Committee Rejects Bill Requiring Labels For Nanotechnology In Food

PORTLAND, Maine - An effort to make Maine the first state in the country to require labels on foods made with the manipulation of tiny particles has been defeated. Former State Rep. John Eder wanted the state to require labels for food products made with nanotechnology. A legislative committee shot down the proposal on Thursday.
 
Nanotechnology allows scientists to manipulate atoms and molecules and is touted by some as a way to enhance the appearance or nutritional quality of food. Democratic State Sen. Ben Chipman of Portland submitted the bill and worked with Eder on it. He says the proposal was pro-consumer.
 
The legislative committee held a public hearing on the proposal on March 5. Members of the Maine food industry said they feared the bill would make the state an outlier.