Delaney clause
Encyclopedia
The Delaney Clause is a 1958 amendment to the Food, Drugs, and Cosmetic Act of 1938
, named after Congressman James Delaney
of New York.
It said:
The Delaney Clause was invoked in 1959 by the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare when the cancer-causing herbicide
aminotriazole was discovered on cranberry
plants in Oregon
and Washington (see Cranberry scare of 1959). Taking place the week of Thanksgiving
, the announcement was referred to by many in the cranberry industry as "Black Monday" − sales plummeted, even though many government officials attempted to defuse the scare
by declaring their intention to eat cranberries anyway. This episode is regarded as one of the first modern food scares based on a chemical additive.
The Delaney Clause applied to pesticide
s in processed foods, but only when residues of a cancer causing pesticide increased during processing; for example when more of a pesticide was present in ketchup than in the raw tomatoes used to make it. (It never applied to pesticides in raw foods.) In 1988 the United States Environmental Protection Agency
eased restrictions on several pesticides which posed a "de minimis" risk to humans. This change was challenged by the Natural Resources Defense Council
, and overturned in 1992 by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Pesticide use was removed from the Delaney Clause in 1996 by an amendment to Title IV of the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-170, Sec. 404).
The Delaney prohibition appears in three separate parts of the FFDCA: Section 409 on food additives; Section 512, relating to animal drugs in meat and poultry; and Section 721 on color additives. The Section 409 prohibition applied to many pesticide residues until enactment of the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996. This legislation removed pesticide residue tolerances from Delaney Clause constraints.
Many foods contain natural substances which are carcinogenic, for example safrole
, which occurs in sassafras
and sweet basil
. Even these substances are covered by the Delaney clause, so that, for example, safrole may not be added to root beer
in the USA.
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
The United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act , is a set of laws passed by Congress in 1938 giving authority to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to oversee the safety of food, drugs, and cosmetics. A principal author of this law was Royal S. Copeland, a three-term U.S. Senator from...
, named after Congressman James Delaney
James Delaney
James Joseph Delaney was a Representative from New York.Delaney was born in New York City March 19, 1901; attended the public schools in Long Island City, Queens. He graduated from the law department of St. John’s College, Brooklyn, N.Y...
of New York.
It said:
- "the Secretary of the Food and Drug AdministrationFood and Drug AdministrationThe Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
shall not approve for use in food any chemical additive found to induce cancer in man, or, after tests, found to induce cancer in animals."
The Delaney Clause was invoked in 1959 by the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare when the cancer-causing herbicide
Herbicide
Herbicides, also commonly known as weedkillers, are pesticides used to kill unwanted plants. Selective herbicides kill specific targets while leaving the desired crop relatively unharmed. Some of these act by interfering with the growth of the weed and are often synthetic "imitations" of plant...
aminotriazole was discovered on cranberry
Cranberry
Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right...
plants in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and Washington (see Cranberry scare of 1959). Taking place the week of Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
, the announcement was referred to by many in the cranberry industry as "Black Monday" − sales plummeted, even though many government officials attempted to defuse the scare
Health scare
Health scare is a campaign to scare the public into avoiding a food or chemical on the grounds that it might cause them to contract an illness or have some other negative effect on their health...
by declaring their intention to eat cranberries anyway. This episode is regarded as one of the first modern food scares based on a chemical additive.
The Delaney Clause applied to pesticide
Pesticide
Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...
s in processed foods, but only when residues of a cancer causing pesticide increased during processing; for example when more of a pesticide was present in ketchup than in the raw tomatoes used to make it. (It never applied to pesticides in raw foods.) In 1988 the United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
eased restrictions on several pesticides which posed a "de minimis" risk to humans. This change was challenged by the Natural Resources Defense Council
Natural Resources Defense Council
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a New York City-based, non-profit, non-partisan international environmental advocacy group, with offices in Washington DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Beijing...
, and overturned in 1992 by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Pesticide use was removed from the Delaney Clause in 1996 by an amendment to Title IV of the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-170, Sec. 404).
The Delaney prohibition appears in three separate parts of the FFDCA: Section 409 on food additives; Section 512, relating to animal drugs in meat and poultry; and Section 721 on color additives. The Section 409 prohibition applied to many pesticide residues until enactment of the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996. This legislation removed pesticide residue tolerances from Delaney Clause constraints.
Many foods contain natural substances which are carcinogenic, for example safrole
Safrole
Safrole, also known as shikimol, is a phenylpropene. It is a colorless or slightly yellow oily liquid. It is typically extracted from the root-bark or the fruit of sassafras plants in the form of sassafras oil , or synthesized from other related methylenedioxy...
, which occurs in sassafras
Sassafras
Sassafras is a genus of three extant and one extinct species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia.-Overview:...
and sweet basil
Basil
Basil, or Sweet Basil, is a common name for the culinary herb Ocimum basilicum , of the family Lamiaceae , sometimes known as Saint Joseph's Wort in some English-speaking countries....
. Even these substances are covered by the Delaney clause, so that, for example, safrole may not be added to root beer
Root beer
Root beer is a carbonated, sweetened beverage, originally made using the root of a sassafras plant as the primary flavor. Root beer, popularized in North America, comes in two forms: alcoholic and soft drink. The historical root beer was analogous to small beer in that the process provided a drink...
in the USA.