[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1605 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1605

   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

                             April 26, 2001

 Mrs. Bono (for herself an Mr. Condit) 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) 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.
                                 <all>