Food Promotion Act of 2005 - Amends the Agricultural Marketing of 1946 to replace current mandatory country of origin labeling requirements with voluntary country of origin labeling programs for: (1) meat and meat products; (2) wild fish, wild shellfish, farm-raised fish, farm-raised shellfish, and related products; and (3) perishable agricultural commodities.
Sets forth: (1) limitations on use of U.S. country of origin labels; and (2) civil penalties for program violations.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1300 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1300
To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to establish a
voluntary program for the provision of country of origin information
with respect to certain agricultural products, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 23, 2005
Mr. Santorum (for himself and Mr. Cornyn) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to establish a
voluntary program for the provision of country of origin information
with respect to certain agricultural products, and for other purposes.
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 ``Food Promotion Act of 2005''.
SEC. 2. REPLACEMENT OF MANDATORY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING WITH
VOLUNTARY PROGRAM OF COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING.
Subtitle D of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C.
1638-1638d) is amended to read as follows:
``Subtitle D--Voluntary Country of Origin Labeling
``SEC. 281. VOLUNTARY PROGRAM OF COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING FOR CERTAIN
MEAT PRODUCTS.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Beef.--The term `beef' means meat produced from
cattle (including veal).
``(2) Covered meat product.--The term `covered meat
product' means ground beef, ground pork, and ground lamb, and
fresh muscle cuts of beef, pork and lamb.
``(3) Lamb.--The term `lamb' means meat produced from
sheep.
``(4) Pork.--The term `pork' means meat produced from
swine.
``(b) Country of Origin Labeling.--The Secretary of Agriculture
(referred to in this subtitle as the `Secretary') shall establish a
voluntary program of country of origin labeling for covered meat
products.
``(c) Label.--In the program established under subsection (b), the
Secretary shall--
``(1) create a label to be used to designate the country of
origin of covered meat products; and
``(2) require persons participating in the program to use
the label created under paragraph (1), or such other label as
the Secretary determines appropriate, to designate the country
of origin of covered meat products.
``(d) Limitation on Use of United States Country of Origin Label.--
A person participating in the program established under subsection (b)
may not designate a covered meat product as having a United States
country of origin unless the covered meat product is derived
exclusively from--
``(1) an animal born, raised, and slaughtered in the United
States; or
``(2) an animal born and raised in Alaska or Hawaii,
transported for a period not to exceed 60 days outside of those
States, and slaughtered in the United States.
``SEC. 282. VOLUNTARY PROGRAM OF COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING FOR FISH
PRODUCTS.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Covered fish.--The term `covered fish'means--
``(A) wild fish;
``(B) wild shellfish;
``(C) farm-raised fish;
``(D) farm-raised shellfish; and
``(E) products of fish described in subparagraphs
(A) throught (D).
``(2) Farm-raised fish.--The term `farm-raised fish'--
``(A) means all fish that are not wild fish; and
``(B) includes net-pen, aquacultural, and other
farm-raised fish.
``(3) Farm-raised shellfish.--The term `farm-raised
shellfish' means--
``(A) all shellfish that are not wild shellfish;
and
``(B) includes net-pen, aquacultural, and other
farm-raised fish.
``(4) Wild fish.--The term `wild fish' means naturally-born
or hatchery-raised fish harvested in the wild.
``(5) Wild shellfish.--The term `wild shellfish' means
naturally-born or hatchery-raised shellfish harvested in the
wild.
``(b) Country of Origin Labeling.--The Secretary shall establish a
voluntary program of country of origin labeling for covered fish.
``(c) Label.--In the program established under subsection (b), the
Secretary shall--
``(1) create a label to be used to designate the country of
origin of covered fish; and
``(2) require persons participating in the program to use
the label created under paragraph (1), or such other label as
the Secretary determines appropriate, to designate the country
of origin of covered fish.
``(d) Limitation on Use of United States Country of Origin Label.--
A person participating in the program established under subsection (b)
may not designate covered fish as having a United States country of
origin unless--
``(1) in the case of wild fish or wild shellfish (or a
product thereof), the wild fish or wild shellfish is--
``(A) harvested in the waters of the United States
or by a United States vessel on the high seas; and
``(B) processed in the United States or aboard a
United States vessel on the high seas; or
``(2) in the case of farm-raised fish or farm-raised
shellfish (or a product thereof), the farm-raised fish or farm-
raised shellfish is raised and harvested in the United States.
``SEC. 283. VOLUNTARY PROGRAM OF COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING FOR
PERISHABLE AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES.
``(a) Definition of Perishable Agricultural Commodity.--In this
section, the term `perishable agricultural commodity'--
``(1) means fresh fruits and vegetables of every kind and
character, except frozen fruits and vegetables; and
``(2) includes cherries packed in brine, as defined by the
Secretary in accordance with trade usages.
``(b) Country of Origin Labeling.--The Secretary shall establish a
voluntary program of country of origin labeling for perishable
agricultural commodities.
``(c) Label.--In the program established under subsection (b), the
Secretary shall--
``(1) create a label to be used to designate the country of
origin of perishable agricultural commodities; and
``(2) require persons participating in the program to use
the label created under paragraph (1), or such other label as
the Secretary determines appropriate, to designate the country
of origin of perishable agricultural commodities.
``(d) Limitation on Use of United States Country of Origin Label.--
A person participating in the program established under subsection (b)
may not designate a perishable agricultural commodity as having a
United States country of origin unless the perishable agricultural
commodity is exclusively grown in the United States.
``(e) Survey of Country of Origin Labeling; Purpose.--
``(1) Definition of label.--In this subsection, the term
`label' means a method to provide information to consumers by
means of a stamp, mark, placard, or other clear and visible
sign (including printed packaging, cello wraps, twist ties,
brand tags, bands, stickers, or other identifiers) affixed to
or placed directly on a perishable agricultural commodity or on
the display, holding unit, or bin containing the commodity at
the final point of sale.
``(2) Survey required; intervals.--Subject to subsection
(f)(2)(C), during the 1 year beginning on the date of the
enactment of the Food Promotion Act of 2005, and every 2 years
thereafter, the Secretary shall conduct, using existing
resources, a national survey--
``(A) to estimate the types and quantities of
perishable agricultural commodities sold in the United
States that are labeled with respect to country of
origin;
``(B) to measure the extent of the voluntary
efforts of the perishable agricultural commodity
industry to provide country of origin information to
consumers, including the overall percentage of
perishable agricultural commodities that bear labels
with country of origin information;
``(C) to determine methods by which country of
origin information is provided with regard to
perishable agricultural commodities sold in the United
States;
``(D) to estimate the types and quantities of
perishable agricultural commodities sold in the United
States that are labeled, but for which no country of
origin information is provided;
``(E) to estimate the types and quantities of
perishable agricultural commodities sold in the United
States that are not labeled;
``(F) to estimate the extent of participation in
the voluntary program established under subsection (b);
and
``(G) to determine whether consumers can reasonably
ascertain the country of origin of a substantial
majority of perishable agricultural commodities for
sale.
``(3) Location of survey.--The survey may be conducted at
retail stores and other locations selected by the Secretary.
``(4) Special considerations.--For the purposes of
conducting the survey, the Secretary shall consider--
``(A) bulk displays containing covered perishable
agricultural commodities from more than 1 country to be
labeled with country of origin information if a
majority of the perishable agricultural commodities in
the bulk display bear country of origin labels; and
``(B) label information regarding a State, region,
or locality of the United States as information
sufficient to identify the United States as the country
of origin.
``(f) Use and Availability of Survey Results.--
``(1) Report to congress.--The Secretary shall submit to
the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of
the Senate a report describing the results of each survey
conducted under subsection (e).
``(2) Subsequent surveys.--
``(A) Determination of consumer awareness.--In each
survey other than the first survey conducted under
subsection (e), if the Secretary determines that
consumers cannot reasonably ascertain the country of
origin of a substantial majority of perishable
agricultural commodities, the Secretary shall include
in the report submitted under paragraph (1) with
respect to that survey--
``(i) specific action steps that would
provide the perishable agricultural commodity
distribution chain with incentives to increase
country of origin labeling levels; and
``(ii) proposed guidelines that would
increase the use of country of origin
identification labels.
``(B) Effect of failure to ascertain country of
origin.--If the Secretary determines that consumers
cannot reasonably ascertain the country of origin of a
substantial majority of perishable agricultural
commodities in 2 consecutive surveys conducted under
subsection (e), the Secretary shall include in the
report submitted under paragraph (1) with respect to
the second of the 2 surveys such recommendations as the
Secretary determines appropriate regarding ways to
increase labeling to achieve that goal.
``(C) Effect of ability to ascertain country of
origin.--If the Secretary makes the determination that
consumers can reasonably ascertain the country of
origin of a substantial majority of perishable
agricultural commodities in 2 consecutive surveys
conducted under subsection (e), the Secretary shall no
longer be required to conduct surveys under that
subsection.
``(3) Public availability.--The Secretary shall make the
results of each survey conducted under subsection (e) available
to the perishable agricultural commodity industry and the
public.
``SEC. 284. VERIFICATION.
``The Secretary may require participants in a program of country of
origin labeling under section 281, 282, or 283 to maintain a verifiable
recordkeeping audit trail that will permit the Secretary to verify
compliance with the program.
``SEC. 285. ENFORCEMENT.
``(a) Civil Penalty.--
``(1) Assessment.--The Secretary may assess a civil penalty
against a participant in a program of country of origin
labeling under section 281, 282, or 283 that purposely or
knowingly violates the terms of the program.
``(2) Amount of penalty.--The amount of a civil penalty
assessed under paragraph (1) may not exceed $10,000 for each
violation.
``(3) Continuing violation.--Each day during which a
violation continues shall be considered to be a separate
violation.
``(b) Notice and Hearing.--The Secretary may not assess a penalty
under subsection (a) against a person unless the person is given notice
and an opportunity for a hearing in accordance with section 554 of
title 5, United States Code, with respect to the violation for which
the person is being assessed.
``SEC. 286. REGULATIONS.
``Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the
Food Promotion Act of 2005, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations
to carry out this subtitle.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
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