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The 2002 Farm Bill |
Country of
Origin Labeling, Sec. 10816
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SEC. 10816. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING. The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7
U.S.C. 1621 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Subtitle D—Country of
Origin Labeling ‘‘SEC. 281. DEFINITIONS. ‘‘In this subtitle: ‘‘(1) BEEF.—The term ‘beef’ means meat
produced from cattle (including veal). ‘‘(2) COVERED COMMODITY.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term
‘covered commodity’ means— ‘‘(i) muscle cuts of beef,
lamb, and pork; ‘‘(ii) ground beef, ground
lamb, and ground pork; ‘‘(iii) farm-raised fish; ‘‘(iv) wild fish; ‘‘(v) a perishable agricultural
commodity; and ‘‘(vi) peanuts. ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term
‘covered commodity’ does not include an item described in subparagraph
(A) if the item is an ingredient in a processed food item. ‘‘(3) FARM-RAISED FISH.—The term
‘farm-raised fish’ includes— ‘‘(A) farm-raised shellfish;
and ‘‘(B) fillets, steaks, nuggets,
and any other flesh from a farm-raised fish or shellfish. ‘‘(4) FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT.—The term ‘food service establishment’ means a
restaurant, cafeteria, lunch room, food stand, saloon, tavern, bar,
lounge, or other similar facility operated as an enterprise engaged in the
business of selling food to the public. ‘‘(5) LAMB.—The term ‘lamb’ means meat,
other than mutton, produced from sheep. ‘‘(6) PERISHABLE AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY; RETAILER.— The terms ‘perishable agricultural commodity’ and
‘retailer’ have the meanings given the terms in section 1(b) of the
Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act of 1930 (7 U.S.C. 499a(b)). ‘‘(7) PORK.—The term ‘pork’ means meat
produced from hogs. ‘‘(8) SECRETARY.—The term
‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the
Agricultural Marketing Service. ‘‘(9) WILD FISH.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term
‘wild fish’ means naturally-born or hatchery-raised fish and shellfish
harvested in the wild. ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term
‘wild fish’ includes a fillet, steak, nugget, and any other flesh from
wild fish or shellfish. ‘‘(C) EXCLUSIONS.—The term
‘wild fish’ excludes netpen aquacultural or other farm-raised fish. ‘‘SEC. 282. NOTICE OF COUNTRY OF ORIGIN. ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Except as
provided in subsection (b), a retailer of a covered commodity shall inform
consumers, at the final point of sale of the covered commodity to
consumers, of the country of origin of the covered commodity. ‘‘(2) UNITED STATES COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.—A retailer of a covered commodity may designate the
covered commodity as having a United States country of origin only if the
covered commodity— ‘‘(A) in the case of beef, is
exclusively from an animal that is exclusively born, raised, and
slaughtered in the United States (including from an animal exclusively
born and raised in Alaska or Hawaii and transported for a period not to
exceed 60 days through Canada to the United States and slaughtered in the
United States); ‘‘(B) in the case of lamb and
pork, is exclusively from an animal that is exclusively born, raised, and
slaughtered in the United States; ‘‘(C) in the case of
farm-raised fish, is hatched, raised, harvested, and processed in the
United States; ‘‘(D) in the case of wild fish,
is— ‘‘(i) harvested in waters of
the United States, a territory of the United States, or a State; and ‘‘(ii) processed in the United
States, a territory of the United States, or a State, including the waters
thereof; and ‘‘(E) in the case of a
perishable agricultural commodity or peanuts, is exclusively produced in
the United States. ‘‘(3) WILD FISH AND FARM-RAISED FISH.—The notice
of country of origin for wild fish and farm-raised fish shall distinguish
between wild fish and farm-raised fish. ‘‘(b) EXEMPTION FOR FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS.—Subsection
(a) shall not apply to a covered commodity if the covered commodity is— ‘‘(1) prepared or served in a
food service establishment; and ‘‘(2)(A) offered for sale or
sold at the food service establishment in normal retail quantities; or ‘‘(B) served to consumers at
the food service establishment. ‘‘(c) METHOD OF NOTIFICATION.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The
information required by subsection (a) may be provided to consumers by
means of a label, stamp, mark, placard, or other clear and visible sign on
the covered commodity or on the package, display, holding unit, or bin
containing the commodity at the final point of sale to consumers. ‘‘(2) LABELED COMMODITIES.—If the
covered commodity is already individually labeled for retail sale
regarding country of origin, the retailer shall not be required to provide
any additional information to comply with this section. ‘‘(d) AUDIT VERIFICATION SYSTEM.—The Secretary may require that
any person that prepares, stores, handles, or distributes a covered
commodity for retail sale maintain a verifiable recordkeeping audit trail
that will permit the Secretary to verify compliance with this subtitle
(including the regulations promulgated under section 284(b)). ‘‘(e) INFORMATION.—Any person
engaged in the business of supplying a covered commodity to a retailer
shall provide information to the retailer indicating the country of origin
of the covered commodity. ‘‘(f) CERTIFICATION OF ORIGIN.— ‘‘(1) MANDATORY IDENTIFICATION.—The
Secretary shall not use a mandatory identification system to verify the
country of origin of a covered commodity. ‘‘(2) EXISTING CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS.—To certify the country of origin of a covered commodity,
the Secretary may use as a model certification programs in existence on
the date of enactment of this Act, including— ‘‘(A) the carcass grading and
certification system carried out under this Act; ‘‘(B) the voluntary country of
origin beef labeling system carried out under this Act; ‘‘(C) voluntary programs
established to certify certain premium beef cuts; ‘‘(D) the origin verification
system established to carry out the child and adult care food program
established under section 17 of the Richard B. Russell National School
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766); or ‘‘(E) the origin verification
system established to carry out the market access program under section
203 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5623). ‘‘SEC. 283. ENFORCEMENT. ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in
subsections (b) and (c), section 253 shall apply to a violation of this
subtitle. ‘‘(b) WARNINGS.—If the
Secretary determines that a retailer is in violation of section 282, the
Secretary shall— ‘‘(1) notify the retailer of
the determination of the Secretary; and ‘‘(2) provide the retailer a
30-day period, beginning on the date on which the retailer receives the
notice under paragraph (1) from the Secretary, during which the retailer
may take necessary steps to comply with section 282. ‘‘(c) FINES.—If, on completion of the 30-day
period described in subsection (b)(2),
the Secretary determines that the retailer has willfully violated section
282, after providing notice and an opportunity for a hearing before the
Secretary with respect to the violation, the Secretary may fine the
retailer in an amount of not more than $10,000 for each violation. ‘‘SEC. 284. REGULATIONS. ‘‘(a) GUIDELINES.—Not later
than September 30, 2002, the Secretary shall issue guidelines for the
voluntary country of origin labeling of covered commodities based on the
requirements of section 282. ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—Not later
than September 30, 2004, the Secretary shall promulgate such regulations
as are necessary to implement this subtitle. ‘‘(c) PARTNERSHIPS WITH STATES.—In promulgating the
regulations, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, enter
into partnerships with States with enforcement infrastructure to assist in
the administration of this subtitle. ‘‘SEC. 285.
APPLICABILITY. ‘‘This subtitle shall apply to the
retail sale of a covered commodity beginning September 30, 2004.’’ |
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