Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling -- 7 CFR Parts 60 and 65

Recently, the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 was amended to require retailers to notify customers of the country of origin of covered commodities. The Agricultural Marketing Service of the USDA issued its final rule implementing the changes. The new rules go into effect on March 16, 2009.

The final rules consist of the key definitions, consumer notification and product marking requirements, and retailer and supplier recordkeeping duties. Covered commodities include muscle cuts of beef and veal, lamb, chicken, goat, and pork; ground beef, ground lamb, ground chicken, ground goat, and ground pork; wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish; perishable agricultural commodities; macadamia nuts; pecans; ginseng; and peanuts.

The final rules require covered commodities to bear labels stating the country of origin and method of production information. Required method of production information includes whether the product is wild or farm raised. Generally, the country of origin is the country of manufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the United States. The standards for whether a product may receive a U.S. country of origin label depend on the product. For example, farm-raised fish and shellfish must be hatched, raised, harvested, and processed in the United States. Wild fish and shellfish must be harvested in the waters of the United States or by a U.S. flagged vessel and processed in the United States or aboard a U.S. flagged vessel. Beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and goat must be derived from animals exclusively born, raised, and slaughtered in the United States, and if born and raised in Alaska or Hawaii, transported through Canada for a period of no more than 60 days and once present in the United States, remained continuously in the United States. Perishable agricultural commodities such as peanuts, ginseng, pecans, and macadamia nuts must be harvested in the United States.

Designations required under the new rules can be made in placards, signs, labels, stickers, bands, twist ties, pin tags, or other formats and may be typed, printed, or handwritten consistent with other federal labeling laws. Signs must be placed in a conspicuous location, so they are likely to be read and understood under normal conditions. Bulk containers are permitted, but must list all possible countries of origin and production methods.

Retailers covered by the rules are those engaged in the business of selling any perishable agricultural commodity at retail. Products sold in restaurants, delicatessens, bars, cafeterias, lunchrooms, and salad bars are exempt from the labeling requirements and ingredients in a processed food items are excluded from the rules.

Retailers are required to retain records in either electronic or hard copy format. Suppliers are required to provide country of origin and method of production information to retailers and must keep substantiating evidence for a period of 1 year from the transaction. Generally, retailers will use the information given to them by their suppliers and will not be liable if that information is incorrect, but the retailer is responsible for initiating a new label if it commingled the product with products of different origin or method of production. Records may be kept in any location, but must be provided to the USDA within 5 business days of its request.