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HR 3885 107th Congress House

Seafood Safety and Mercury Screening Act of 2002

Official title: To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a tolerance for the presence of methyl mercury in seafood, and for other purposes.

Introduced: March 6, 2002 Introduced by: Pallone, Frank Democratic · New Jersey See on congress.gov
Agriculture and Food Administrative procedureChild healthCommerceCongress
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Congressional reporting requirementsDepartment of Health and Human ServicesEnvironmental ProtectionEnvironmental risk assessmentFamiliesFood adulteration and inspectionFood safetyGovernment Operations and PoliticsGovernment publicityHealthHealth educationHealth warningsInfantsLawMercuryPregnant womenPublic service advertisingRisk assessmentScience, Technology, CommunicationsSeafoodWomenWomen's health
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This bill died when the 107th Congress ended
It never became law before the 107th Congress (2001–2002) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Mar 26, 2002
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Mar 6, 2002
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Mar 6, 2002
Introduced in House
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 Latest action March 26, 2002

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service
Seafood Safety and Mercury Screening Act of 2002 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to: (1) provide that seafood containing an unsafe quantity of methyl mercury shall be deemed to be adulterated; (2) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a tolerance for methyl mercury in seafood based on a scientific analysis of the health risks attributable to such substance; and (3) deem unsafe any seafood containing methyl mercury over the tolerance limits.

Requires the Secretary to ensure that there is a reasonable certainty that no harm will result to pregnant women, infants, and children from aggregate exposure to methyl mercury.

Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a sampling system to determine the extent of tolerance compliance; (2) design and implement a related public education program; (3) develop national and regional methyl mercury advisories; and (4) consider certain findings of the National Academy of Sciences regarding the Environmental Protection Agency's recommended level for methyl mercury.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 3885: Seafood Safety and Mercury Screening Act of 2002. 107th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/107-HR-3885/
MLA
"H.R. 3885: Seafood Safety and Mercury Screening Act of 2002." 107th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/107-HR-3885/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 3885, 107th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/107-HR-3885/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 3885: Seafood Safety and Mercury Screening Act of 2002](https://openamerica.io/bill/107-HR-3885/)
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