Santos’ bill to regulate lime passes Senate
The Senate passed a bill late last month to regulate the manufacturing of lime, or afok or bweesch, by including these under the Pure Food and Drug Control Act.
Senate Bill 19-97 is authored by Sen. Teresita Santos (R-Rota) and includes lime into current law that guides the handling and manufacturing of food.
“The Commonwealth Legislature recognizes that the prevalence of oral cancer in the CNMI has increased substantially. Although afok or bweesch may not have a direct link to oral cancer or other deadly diseases, the Commonwealth Legislature finds that there is a great need to protect the people until concrete studies are done,” the bill states.
The ingredients in lime have changed over time, the bill states, with ingredients for lime in the past obtained from coral before inception of public law to oversee and regulate the use of coastal resources.
An earlier version of the bill had been vetoed by Gov. Ralph DLG Torres in April over errors in sentential structure that would have rendered a provision requiring food handling permits moot.
