Washington -- The Congressional House of Representatives approved a bill Wednesday night that would wipe out state laws on safety labeling of food, overriding tough rules passed by California voters two decades ago that require food producers to warn consumers about cancer-causing ingredients. The vote was a victory for the food industry, which has lobbied for years       
for national standards for food labeling and contributed millions of            
dollars to lawmakers' campaigns. But consumer groups and state regulators       
warned that the bill would undo more than 200 state laws, including             
California's landmark Proposition 65, that protects public health. Critics say the laws have added costs for food manufacturers and distributors, who must comply with different rules in different states. The industry's backers claim the different warning labels confuse              
consumers. "The purpose of this legislation is to keep the public from knowing about       
the harm they may be exposed to in food," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los         
Angeles, a chief critic of the measure. Under the bill, any state that wanted to keep its own tougher standards for food labeling would have to ask for approval from the Food and Drug        
Administration, which has been criticized by food safety groups as slow to     
issue consumer warnings.     The legislation faces a tougher battle in the more       
evenly divided Senate, and there are signs of growing opposition to the        
measure.  California's two Democratic senators are threatening to block the bill         
from coming to the Senate floor. A group of 39 state attorneys general,        
including many Republicans, has warned of the consequences of the measure.     
State food and drug regulators and agricultural officials also are urging      
the Senate to reject the bill.