Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agency Appropriations Act, 2027

Floor Speech

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Mrs. SYKES. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of my amendment No. 22, which calls on the FDA to require infant formula and toddler food manufacturers to implement an environmental monitoring regime for deadly contaminants like botulism and salmonella.

A recent Consumer Reports study found potentially concerning levels of contaminants in more than half of the tested infant formula samples, and we have seen similar reports on heavy metals and contaminants in toddler food.

Parents shouldn't have to worry about whether the food they feed their children is unsafe, and we need to do better.

The report for this bill includes language I requested to strengthen the testing for heavy metals, but we must also monitor for environmental contaminants so we can prevent outbreaks before they happen, like the botulism outbreak from earlier this year.

I urge my colleagues to support this en bloc and to also support my INFANTS Act, which would empower the FDA to take the appropriate action to protect our precious babies.

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