What is the importance of and current situation with the National Uniformity for Food Act?
Hidell: The bottled water industry supports the National Uniformity for Food Act, which would amend the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to prevent any state or political subdivision from promulgating regulations that are not identical to the specified FDCA provisions where interstate commerce is involved. Water bottlers ship across state boundaries, as do many major food manufacturers, and as such, must be able to do so without limitation. If the manufacturers must produce products for regional markets because of regional regulations regarding quality or packaging, the cost to the consumer for all food products would rise significantly as well as create confusion in the consumer’s mind about any one product from market to market. WQP: With an increasing number of bottled waters being sold internationally, what are some of the potential issues with regard to water quality and safety? Hidell: The international trade of bottled water is not as great a volume as one may suspect.
