SCHUMER: RECENT REPORTS SHOW POPULAR REUSABLE GROCERY
BAGS CONTAIN DANGEROUS LEVELS OF LEAD; CALLS FOR FEDERAL
AGENCIES TO BAN GROCERY BAGS WITH LEAD
November 15, 2010
Many of the
Bags Are Made in China; NY Grocery Store Has Already
Removed Bags; Publix and Winn Dixie Pressing Manufacturers
for Safer Alternatives
Exposure to High Levels
of Lead Can Damage Nervous System, Kidney Function,
and Immune System Over Time
Schumer: Millions of
Shoppers Use Reusable Bags Putting Food Directly in
Contact with High Levels of Lead that Could Threaten
the Health of Our Families
U.S. Senator Charles
E. Schumer today called on the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to investigate
and ban reusable shopping bags that contain higher
than acceptable levels of lead. Many of these popular
bags are manufactured in China and sold to grocery
stores, who then sell them to customers. Schumer,
Vice Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, noted
that while there may be no immediate danger to human
health, food products come into direct contact with
these bags and long-term exposure can pose serious
health and environmental risks. Schumer, who has a
long record fighting to make products imported from
China safe for consumers and children, is asking federal
agencies to investigate and ban any reusable bags
sold to grocery stores and retailers that are found
to have high levels of lead in them.
Continue
reading