Produce Consumers' Right-to-Know Act (Introduced in the House)
HR 1145 IH
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1145
To require that perishable agricultural commodities be labeled or marked
as to their country of origin and to establish penalties for violations
of such labeling requirements.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 17, 1999
Mrs. BONO (for herself, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr.
BILIRAKIS, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. BOYD, Mr. BROWN of California, Mr.
BROWN of Ohio, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mrs. CHENOWETH, Mr. CONDIT, Mr.
CUNNINGHAM, Mr. DAVIS of Florida, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. DEUTSCH,
Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. EVERETT, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. GOSS, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida,
Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon, Mr. HORN, Mr. HUNTER, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KILDEE, Ms.
KILPATRICK, Mr. KING, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. LEACH, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. MICA, Mr.
GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii,
Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. NEY, Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. POMEROY, Mr. QUINN,
Ms. RIVERS, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. SHAW,
Mr. SHOWS, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. STUMP, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. TRAFICANT,
Mr. WELDON of Florida, and Mr. WEXLER) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
A BILL
To require that perishable agricultural commodities be labeled or marked
as to their country of origin and to establish penalties for violations
of such labeling requirements.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Produce Consumers' Right-to-Know Act'.
SEC. 2. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING OF PERISHABLE AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES.
(a) DEFINITIONS- In this section:
(1) FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT- The term `food service establishment'
means a restaurant, cafeteria, lunch room, food stand, saloon, tavern,
bar, lounge, or other similar facility, which is operated as an enterprise
engaged in the business of selling foods to the public.
(2) 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, 1930 (7
U.S.C. 499a(b)).
(b) NOTICE OF COUNTRY OF ORIGIN REQUIRED- Except as provided in subsection
(c), a retailer of a perishable agricultural commodity shall inform consumers,
at the final point of sale of the perishable agricultural commodity to
consumers, of the country of origin of the perishable agricultural commodity.
This requirement shall apply to imported and domestically produced perishable
agricultural commodities.
(c) EXEMPTION FOR FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS- Subsection (b) shall
not apply to a perishable agricultural commodity to the extent that the
perishable agricultural 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.
(d) METHOD OF NOTIFICATION-
(1) IN GENERAL- The information required by subsection (b) may be provided
to consumers by means of a label, stamp, mark, placard, or other clear
and visible sign on the perishable agricultural 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 a perishable agricultural commodity is
already individually labeled regarding country of origin by a packer, importer,
or another person, the retailer shall not be required to provide any additional
information to comply with this section.
(e) VIOLATIONS- If a retailer fails to indicate the country of origin
of a perishable agricultural commodity as required by subsection (b), the
Secretary of Agriculture may assess a civil penalty on the retailer in
an amount not to exceed--
(1) $1,000 for the first day on which the violation occurs; and
(2) $250 for each day on which the same violation continues.
(f) DEPOSIT OF FUNDS- Amounts collected under subsection (e) shall
be deposited in the Treasury of the United States as miscellaneous receipts.
(g) APPLICATION OF SECTION- This section shall apply with respect to
a perishable agricultural commodity offered for retail sale after the end
of the 6-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.