| Country of Origin Meat
Labeling Act of 2001 (Introduced in the House)
HR 1121 IH
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1121
To amend the Agricultural
Marketing Act of 1946 to require retailers of beef, lamb, and pork to inform
consumers, at the final point of sale to consumers, of the country of origin
of the commodities.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 20, 2001
Mr. POMEROY (for himself, Mr.
THUNE, and Mr. UDALL of New Mexico) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
A BILL
To amend the Agricultural
Marketing Act of 1946 to require retailers of beef, lamb, and pork to inform
consumers, at the final point of sale to consumers, of the country of origin
of the commodities.
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 `Country of Origin Meat Labeling Act of 2001'.
SEC. 2. 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 C--Country of Origin
Labeling
`SEC. 271. DEFINITIONS.
`(1) BEEF- The term `beef'
means meat produced from cattle (including veal).
`(2) COVERED COMMODITY-
The term `covered commodity' means--
`(A) muscle cuts of beef,
lamb, and pork; and
`(B) ground beef, ground
lamb, and ground pork.
`(3) FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT-
The term `food service establishment' means a restaurant, cafeteria, lunchroom,
food stand, saloon, tavern, bar, lounge, or other similar facility operated
as an enterprise engaged in the business of selling food to the public.
`(4) LAMB- The term `lamb'
means meat, other than mutton, produced from sheep.
`(5) PORK- The term `pork'
means meat produced from hogs.
`(6) SECRETARY- The term
`Secretary' means the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Agricultural
Marketing Service.
`SEC. 272. NOTICE OF COUNTRY
OF ORIGIN.
`(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 is exclusively from an animal that is exclusively born, raised,
and slaughtered in the United States.
`(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
ensure compliance with the regulations promulgated under section 274.
`(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.
`SEC. 273. ENFORCEMENT.
`Section 253 shall apply
to a violation of this subtitle.
`SEC. 274. REGULATIONS.
`(a) IN GENERAL- The Secretary
may promulgate such regulations as are necessary to carry out this subtitle.
`(b) PARTNERSHIPS WITH STATES-
In promulgating the regulations, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent
practicable, enter into partnerships with States with enforcement infrastructure
to carry out this subtitle.
`SEC. 275. APPLICATION.
`This subtitle shall apply
to the retail sale of a covered commodity beginning 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this subtitle.'.
|