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North Carolina closes some of its shellfish beds in the summer, for example, because warm waters can lead to dangerous toxin outbreaks. But federal law would allow harvesting there.

The state requires live oysters be kept in refrigerated coolers; federal rules allow for shell stock to be placed on ice.

"We really don't need the FDA to tell us how to do it," said Mobley, a section chief in the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Many opponents think the bill is aimed at a California law, called Proposition 65, passed by voters in the 1980s. It requires companies to put warning labels on items containing ingredients that cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive problems.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who opposes the federal bill, says the law has kept lead from candy and arsenic from bottled water.

Susan Stout, a lobbyist for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, said her group doesn't want to restrict inspections. It just wants to ensure that labeling rules are the same from state to state.

"We want to make sure what's done is based on the best science available and done for all consumers," she said.

Some grocery shoppers are skeptical.

Struckmann, of Raleigh, said she has less confidence in federal overseers. "I don't think they're as strict as the state is," she said.

Dilip Barman, president of the Triangle Vegetarian Society, said California's rules have helped all consumers.

"No matter where you live, it gives you a feeling of empowerment as a citizen to have input in state government and how food is labeled," said Barman, who lives in Durham. "I think there should be more disclosure in food."

Burr first introduced the bill in 1998, when he was in the House. The bill passed the House overwhelmingly in March.

Food industry support

Burr's political campaigns have long been supported by the agribusiness industry.

In Burr's run for the Senate in 2004, he raised $156,236 from the food processing and sales industry, according to the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington. Only President Bush and Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry raised more.

The same year, Burr was the second highest recipient of agribusiness money among Senate candidates, getting more than half a million dollars, according to the center.

Burr shrugged off the connection. "We must've hit a nerve," he said. "Everybody's shooting at us. I truly believe they can't argue with the policy, so they're going to attack it."

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