Requires apples and apple products treated with daminozide to be labelled

Title of bill

An act to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring the labeling of apples and apple products offered for sale indicating the use of daminozide

Justification

Consumers in New York State should be made aware of the possible threat of cancer posed by the use of daminozide. The concern over the plant growth regulator which improves the color, firmness and shelf life of apples has prompted various environmental advocacy groups to further investigate the health risks involved with the use of daminozide. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released a report on the levels of pesticide residues found in various fruits and vegetables. The report concluded that preschoolers, who consume seven times as many apples and eighteen times as much apple juice as the average adult relative to their body weight, are being exposed to hazardous levels of pesticide residues. The report further stated that 50% of a person's lifetime risk of developing cancer from exposure to pesticide residues on fruit is incurred during the first six years of life. UDMH, a by-product of daminozide, is the greatest source of this cancer risk according to the NRDC.

The Consumer's Union performed a study on various brands of apple juice to determine the amount of daminozide present in the apple juices. The results showed that many popular brands of apple juice had unacceptable levels of residues. The Environmental Protection Agency is currently in the process of determining the carcinogenic effects involved with the use of daminozide on apples and apple products. The EPA's proposed cancellation of daminozide in 1984 was withdrawn when the study, which provided the principal data used by the EPA, was determined to be invalid due to improper procedures. Until adequate testing of daminozide has been concluded, precautionary measures must be set forth. In order to provide the consumer with the proper protection from any health risk that may be associated with daminozide, mandatory labeling of all apples and apple products must be required. The proper labeling will be a formulation of an informed decision.

Fiscal implications

There will be an increase of approximately $6,800 in the annual contributions of the State of New York. In addition, there will be an immediate past service cost of approximately $216,000 which would be borne by the Nassau Health Care Corporation.

Effective date

This act shall take effect ninety days after it shall have become a law.