Matheson pushing for dinnerware labels

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, helped push the Food and Drug Administration Thursday for better labeling on packages that include foreign-made dinnerware that may contain unsafe levels of lead.

"Shouldn't a warning label be printed on the product or packaging to alert consumers to the possible presence of lead in their dishes?" Matheson asked an FDA official during a meeting of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's health subcommittee.

Matheson spoke during the hearing about a nursing child in Utah who he said was poisoned by lead that had leached out of the family's dinnerware.

A Matheson press release stated the congressman is working toward legislation that will address the "lead in dishware issue" and that more hearings are planned before drafting of a final measure.