Snack World - May 2014 - (Page 11)

LEGISLATIVE SUMMIT 2014 SFA Legislative Summit Washington's cherry trees bloom, SFA's Legislative Initiative blossoms BY BOB GATTY S FA's 2014 Legislative Summit brought some 35 snack food industry executives from across the nation to Washington, DC, as the famed cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and most went home feeling like their impact on the political process had blossomed. During the April 9-10 event, 67 face-to-face meetings were held with US senators, members of the House of Representatives and staff as industry executives expressed their views about key issues ranging from labor and energy policy to transportation regulations and potential actions by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). "It was a fabulous day," said SFA President & CEO Tom Dempsey following the jam-packed agenda of discussions with lawmakers. "We had a tremendous turnout of SFA members, a number of them first timers, and our message was heard loud and clear across Capitol Hill." "It's important to let our lawmakers know about our concerns," said Chip Mann, president, Pretzels, Inc., Bluffton, IN. "I think we were able to get our message across to our representatives, and it was certainly time well spent." Rich Rudolph, president and CEO, Rudolph Foods Co., Inc., Lima, OH, agreed. "This is a very important part of our association's government affairs initiative," he said. "I want to encourage even more participation in the future and for SFA members to maintain close ties with our legislators." EARLY VICTORY News was made on one of SFA's top concerns as Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) introduced the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2014, which would establish a federal voluntary labeling standard for food and beverage products containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Supported by SFA, the bill would give FDA authority over labeling of GMO food and beverage ingredients, superseding state requirements. In 2013, at least 26 states have proposed legislation that would require food products containing GMOs to be labeled. Under the Pompeo bill, GMO-free products could be labeled as such, but there would be no requirement to label products containing GMOs. Mr. Pompeo said he expects subcommittee hearings sometime in June. "The problem is the potential patchwork of 26 states having their own, possibly conflicting requirements," Mr. Dempsey said. "Why do we have to label it at all? It's the same approach as with organic foods. From a commerce standpoint, it would be a killer if we don't enact this law on the federal level." In their meetings with lawmakers, snack executives emphasized that because their companies distribute their products across state lines, it would be impossible to create packages with differing www.sfa.org Rep. Tom Marino (RPA) (right) discussed his proposal to require retailers to report non-food purchases by SNAP recipients to the federal government with (from left) Daryl Thomas, Herr Foods Inc.; Craig Hatfield, Bryce Corp.; Dan Sifer, Herr Foods Inc., and David Cantrell, Land O'Lakes Global Dairy Solutions. May 2014 Snack World 11 http://www.sfa.org

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Snack World - May 2014