Country-of-Origin Meat Labeling Act of 1999

Country-of-Origin Meat Labeling Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to require a packer or processor of domestic or imported livestock or meat offered for U.S. sale to affix and maintain throughout the chain of distribution country-of-origin labeling until sale to a consumer, food-serving institution, or restaurant.

States that food-serving institutions and restaurants shall not be required to notify customers of the country-of origin of meat and meat food products served.

Restricts the use of "U.S. meat" label to a carcass or part, meat, or meat food product, consisting entirely of domestic meat.

Includes country-of-origin requirements in the definition of misbranded under such Act.

[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1144 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1144

 To amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act to require that all meat and 
    meat food products, whether domestic or imported, bear a label 
notifying the ultimate purchaser of meat and meat food products of the 
 country of origin of the livestock that is the source of the meat and 
                          meat food products.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 17, 1999

Mrs. Chenoweth (for herself, Mr. Pomeroy, Mr. Traficant, Mrs. Bono, Mr. 
  Shows, Mr. Phelps, Mr. Mica, Mr. Herger, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Hill of 
 Montana, Mrs. Emerson, Mr. LaTourette, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Bartlett of 
    Maryland, Mr. McHugh, Mr. Norwood, Mr. Doolittle, Mr. Watts of 
Oklahoma, Mr. Hall of Texas, Mr. Hunter, Mrs. Thurman, Mr. Rohrabacher, 
  Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Weller, Mr. Watkins, Mr. Edwards, Mr. 
Sanders, Mr. Regula, Mr. Evans, Mrs. Cubin, Mr. Weldon of Florida, Mr. 
    Coburn, Mr. Kucinich, Ms. Kaptur, and Mr. Thune) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act to require that all meat and 
    meat food products, whether domestic or imported, bear a label 
notifying the ultimate purchaser of meat and meat food products of the 
 country of origin of the livestock that is the source of the meat and 
                          meat food products.

    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 1999''.

SEC. 2. COUNTRY-OF-ORIGIN LABELING OF MEAT AND MEAT FOOD PRODUCTS.

    (a) Labeling Required.--The Federal Meat Inspection Act is amended 
by inserting after section 7 (21 U.S.C. 607) the following new section:

``SEC. 7A. REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO COUNTRY-OF-ORIGIN LABELING.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Livestock.--The term `livestock' means cattle, sheep, 
        swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equines.
            ``(2) Domestic meat.--The term `domestic meat' means a 
        carcass, part of a carcass, meat, or meat food product derived 
        entirely from domestic livestock.
            ``(3) Domestic livestock.--The term `domestic livestock' 
        means livestock that satisfy all of the following:
                    ``(A) The animal is born in the United States.
                    ``(B) The animal is raised throughout its entire 
                life in the United States.
                    ``(C) The animal is slaughtered and otherwise 
                processed in the United States.
            ``(4) Imported meat.--The term `imported meat' means a 
        carcass, part of a carcass, meat, or meat food product that 
        does not satisfy the definition of domestic meat.
            ``(5) Imported livestock.--The term `imported livestock' 
        means livestock that does not satisfy the definition of 
        domestic livestock.
            ``(6) Ultimate purchaser.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `ultimate purchaser', 
                with regard to a carcass, part of a carcass, meat, or 
                meat food product, means--
                            ``(i) a person who buys the item for 
                        consumption;
                            ``(ii) a public or private institution that 
                        serves the item for consumption; or
                            ``(iii) a restaurant or other food service 
                        establishment that serves the item for 
                        consumption.
                    ``(B) Exception.--Other than as provided in clauses 
                (ii) and (iii) of subparagraph (A), the term does not 
                include a person who buys a carcass, part of a carcass, 
                meat, or meat food product for resale.
    ``(b) Country-of-Origin Label Required.--
            ``(1) Purpose.--Country-of-origin labels are required under 
        this section so that the ultimate purchasers of meat and meat 
        food products in the United States are accurately informed of 
        the country of origin of the livestock from which meat and meat 
        food products are derived.
            ``(2) Initial use of livestock.--A packer or processor that 
        uses livestock to produce a carcass, part of a carcass, meat, 
        or meat food product that is offered for sale, sold, or resold 
        within the United States, either in its original form or in a 
        further processed form, shall affix a label to the carcass, 
        part of a carcass, meat, or meat food product that identifies 
        the country or countries in which the livestock were born, 
        raised, and slaughtered from which the carcass, part of a 
        carcass, meat, or meat food product was derived.
            ``(3) Use of domestic meat or imported meat.--A packer or 
        processor that uses domestic meat or imported meat to produce a 
        carcass, part of a carcass, meat, or meat food product that is 
        offered for sale, sold, or resold within the United States, 
        either in its original form or in a further processed form, 
        shall affix a label to the carcass, part of a carcass, meat, or 
        meat food product that identifies the country or countries in 
        which the livestock were born, raised, and slaughtered from 
        which the domestic meat or imported meat was derived.
    ``(c) Maintenance of Label.--
            ``(1) In general.--A packer or processor referred to in 
        subsection (b), and each subsequent re-seller of the carcass, 
        part of a carcass, meat, or meat food product, shall be 
        responsible for ensuring that the country-of-origin label is 
        maintained throughout the chain of distribution until the 
        carcass, carcass part, meat, or meat food product is sold to 
        the ultimate purchaser.
            ``(2) Exceptions.--Institutions that serve meat or meat 
        food products for consumption and restaurants and other food 
        service establishments shall neither be required to, nor 
        restricted from, notifying their customers of the country of 
        origin of the meat or meat food products they serve.
    ``(d) Restriction on Use of United States Meat Label.--A carcass, 
part of a carcass, meat, or meat food product may not bear a label 
identifying the carcass, part of a carcass, meat, or meat food product 
as United States meat unless it consists entirely of domestic meat.
    ``(e) Treatment of Imported Meat and Imported Livestock.--In the 
case of imported meat, the country-of-origin label required by this 
section shall also identify the country or countries from which the 
livestock, carcass, part of a carcass, meat, or meat food product (as 
the case may be) was imported into the United States. In the case of 
live imported livestock imported into the United States for slaughter, 
whether fed for a time in the United States and slaughtered or imported 
only for slaughter, the country-of-origin label shall also identify the 
country or countries from which the livestock were imported into the 
United States.
    ``(f) Treatment of Blended Products.--In the case of a blended meat 
or meat food product, the country-of-origin label required by this 
section shall list the country or countries of origin of the livestock 
from which the blended meat or meat food product was derived, in 
descending order of predominance therein.
    ``(g) Label Description and Placement.--In the case of a carcass, 
part of a carcass, meat, or meat food product offered for sale to an 
ultimate purchaser, the country-of-origin label shall be placed on the 
carcass, part of the carcass, meat, or meat food product, or its 
immediate package or container, in such a location that the label is 
clearly visible to the ultimate purchaser. The country-of-origin 
lettering shall be of a size at least equal to other lettering 
contained on the carcass, meat, or meat food product, or its immediate 
package or container.
    ``(h) Relation to Inspection Stamp.--An inspection stamp required 
under section 7 shall not be a substitute for the country-of-origin 
label, and shall not be represented by anyone as proof or certification 
of the country of origin of the livestock from which a carcass, part of 
a carcass, meat, or meat food product is derived.''.
    (b) Inclusion of Country-of-Origin Requirements in Definition of 
Misbranded.--Section 1(n) of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 
601(n)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (11);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (12) and 
        inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(13) if it fails to bear a country-of-origin label as 
        required by section 7A.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
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