Committee reviews bill to require testing and QR-code labeling of baby food; infant formula to be phased in

The Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry committee reviewed a bill that would require testing and public labeling of baby food products and bar the sale of products containing toxic heavy metals above limits set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Legislative Council staff member Katie McLennanoff summarized the draft: it renames a subchapter in Title 18, creates a new subchapter on testing and labeling, and adds a section specific to baby food with definitions for terms including "baby food product," "infant formula," "proficient laboratory," "QR code," and "toxic heavy metal." "A person shall not sell, distribute, or offer for sale any baby food product that contains a toxic heavy metal that exceeds the limits established by the US FDA," McLennanoff recited from the draft.

The committee spent the bulk of the meeting on timing and scope. Members debated whether to exclude infant formula initially or include it and give formula manufacturers a later phase-in. One member recommended explicitly including formula in the definition and setting a later effective date for formula; Legislative Council advised handling staggered timing in the bill's effective-date section rather than embedding dates in the statutory language.

Several implementation details were discussed: whether inventory purchased before enactment should be allowed to sell through, how long manufacturers would have to change packaging, and whether testing and a public-facing website must be operational on the effective date. Committee members proposed options including (a) tying the carve-out to products ordered before the effective date, (b) setting the bill's effective date for January 1 to give industry more lead time, or (c) adopting a one-year delayed effective date for operational readiness. Committee members did not settle on a single date; dates discussed included July 1 (as an enactment target), January 1 of the calendar year following enactment for general baby food items, and a later date (proposed 01/01/2028) specifically for infant formula.

Committee members also discussed how consumers would report suspected violations. The draft required a consumer who believed a product violated the new limits to report it to the commissioner (draft defined as the commissioner of health). Members said the Attorney General's office generally handles enforcement and recommended routing enforcement notices or authority to the Attorney General; the committee agreed to revise the language so enforcement responsibilities would fall to the Attorney General rather than maintaining a separate "commissioner" enforcement role.

Speakers noted that many national brands already provide QR codes and online disclosures; one committee member said they visited stores and found "every food I saw was QR coded," and another recounted that a colleague scanned a product, saw heavy-metal levels listed and discarded the product. At the same time, members flagged that infant formula packaging and disclosure were not yet universal and that smaller local manufacturers could need more lead time.

No formal motions or votes were recorded in the transcript of this meeting. Staff were asked to prepare draft amendments reflecting the committee discussion (phase-in language for infant formula, effective-date drafting and routing enforcement to the Attorney General) and circulate a revised draft for further consideration at the committee's next meeting.

The committee directed staff to return with a draft; McLennanoff said she would try to circulate a draft that night and the committee planned to reconvene the next day at 09:30 to continue the matter.