HR 1605 IH

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.

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) ESTABLISHMENT OF LABELING REQUIREMENT- The Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930, is amended by inserting after section 17 (7 U.S.C. 499q) the following new section:

`SEC. 18. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING OF PERISHABLE AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES.

`(a) NOTICE OF COUNTRY OF ORIGIN REQUIRED- Except as provided in subsection (b), 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.

`(b) EXEMPTION FOR FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS-

`(1) EXEMPTION- Subsection (a) shall not apply to a perishable agricultural commodity to the extent that the perishable agricultural commodity is--

`(A) prepared or served in a food service establishment; and

`(B) offered for sale or sold at the food service establishment in normal retail quantities or served to consumers at the food service establishment.

`(2) DEFINITION- In this subsection, 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.

`(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 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.

`(d) VIOLATIONS- If a retailer fails to indicate the country of origin of a perishable agricultural commodity as required by subsection (a), 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.

`(e) DEPOSIT OF FUNDS- Amounts collected under subsection (d) shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States as miscellaneous receipts.'.

(b) APPLICATION OF AMENDMENT- Section 18 of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930, as added by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to a perishable agricultural commodity offered for retail sale after the end of the six-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.