This bill establishes a new Panel on Food Safety within the Department of Public Health and Human Services, consisting of six members appointed by the governor and the speaker of the house. The panel's primary responsibilities include studying the cumulative effects of food additives and color additives, setting safe cumulative amounts based on toxicity data, and advising the department on limiting the availability of foods containing harmful additives. The panel will meet quarterly and is required to submit annual reports to the department and biennial reports to the environmental quality council, detailing their findings and recommendations.

Additionally, the bill amends several sections of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA) to enhance the department's authority regarding food safety regulations. It allows the department to adopt rules to limit the availability of food containing additives identified by the panel as having negative effects, and it mandates that the department collaborate with the United States Food and Drug Administration in this process. The bill also includes provisions for the panel to gather data from relevant parties about food additive usage and establishes a transition period for appointing panel members.

Statutes affected:
LC Text: 50-1-202, 50-31-108, 50-31-109, 80-1-104