SENATE RESOLUTION 207

(By Senators Blair (Mr. President), Azinger, Barrett, Boley, Chapman, Clements, Deeds, Grady, Hamilton, Hunt, Jeffries, Maroney, Martin, Maynard, Nelson, Oliverio, Phillips, Queen, Roberts, Rucker, Smith, Stover, Stuart, Swope, Takubo, Tarr, Taylor, Trump, Weld, and Woodrum)

[Introduced October 8, 2024]

Requesting that food safety standards as to imported products into the United States are held to the same standard as required of products from the United States and within the United States, to ensure consumer safety and more stringent quality standards for the same, and further requesting the action on this serious matter of concern to consumers and the health of United States citizens be taken by Congressional Committee Leaders and Members.

Whereas, Dangerous substances have been detected in food products entering the United States from other countries as imported products; and

Whereas, Such substances are not only found to be above normal levels, but are in excess of dangerous quantities in certain products; and

Whereas, West Virginians deserve the same quality food products as guaranteed by requirements and quality standards to which United States products as exports to other countries are held; and

Whereas, This matter is a serious concern to the health and safety of all West Virginians and Americans; and

Whereas, More stringent standards for foreign imports must be guaranteed such that consumers are well-informed about what food they are purchasing and consuming; and

Whereas, The increase of alarming recalls on foreign imported food products is indicative of a need to take action similar to that of Louisiana by Act No. 148 and Texas, which has taken similar measures through legislation currently in process; and

Whereas, Imported food that originates from outside the United States should be clearly labeled as such to identify appropriate risks to consumers in purchasing imported food from a foreign country; and

Whereas, When products are produced at lower food safety standards and then are subsequently dumped onto American consumers and are inundating an already saturated market in the United States, an unfair trade advantage continuously hits American-made food products; and

Whereas, This unfair trade practice which results from lower standards then hurts not only the producers on American soil, but the consumers suffer from inflated prices at grocery stores and potentially unsafe products on the family dinner table; and

Whereas, To so ensure that consumers are aware and can readily identify this information for their own awareness and safety until further action is taken by the necessary federal and other relevant agencies, and until further action is taken by additional state legislatures, the West Virginia Legislature and Commissioner of Agriculture both must commit to working with the federal government to improve and implement further quality and safety standards as to foreign product imports to be more stringent and further work to ensure the same is enforced; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate:

That the Senate hereby requests that food safety standards as to imported products into the United States are held to the same standard as required of products from the United States and within the United States, to ensure consumer safety and more stringent quality standards for the same, and further requests the action on this serious matter of concern to consumers and the health of United States citizens be taken by Congressional Committee Leaders and Members; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Senate will work towards improvement to these standards and as to other food safety and imported/exported product requirements to ensure that the citizens of this nation and this state will be as secure and safe as possible in the process of guaranteeing the best possible and safest possible food supply; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to Members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry (Chairman Sens. Debbie Stabenow, of Michigan, and Tina Smith, of Minnesota) as well as Members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, along with the respective Ranking Members of each body’s Committee and each Subcommittee.