[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1740 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1740

To require labeling of raw agricultural forms of ginseng, including the 
              country of harvest, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 20, 2005

   Mr. Obey introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require labeling of raw agricultural forms of ginseng, including the 
              country of harvest, 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 ``Ginseng Harvest Labeling Act of 2005 
''.

SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE OF COUNTRY OF HARVEST.

    The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

                         ``Subtitle E--Ginseng

``SEC. 291. DISCLOSURE OF COUNTRY OF HARVEST.

    ``(a) Definition of Ginseng.--In this section, the term `ginseng' 
means an herb or herbal ingredient that--
            ``(1) is derived from a plant classified within the genus 
        Panax; and
            ``(2) is offered for sale as a raw agricultural commodity 
        in any form intended to be used in or as a food or dietary 
        supplement under the name of `ginseng'.
    ``(b) Disclosure.--
            ``(1) In general.--A person that offers ginseng for sale as 
        a raw agricultural commodity shall disclose to potential 
        purchasers the country of harvest of the ginseng.
            ``(2) Importation.--A person that imports ginseng into the 
        United States shall disclose the country of harvest of the 
        ginseng at the point of entry of the United States, in 
        accordance with section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 
        U.S.C. 1304).
    ``(c) Manner of Disclosure.--
            ``(1) In general.--The disclosure required by subsection 
        (b) shall be provided to potential purchasers by means of a 
        label, stamp, mark, placard, or other clear and visible sign on 
        the ginseng or on the package, display, holding unit, or bin 
        containing the ginseng.
            ``(2) Retailers.--A retailer of ginseng shall--
                    ``(A) retain disclosure provided under subsection 
                (b); and
                    ``(B) provide disclosure to a retail purchaser of 
                the raw agricultural commodity.
            ``(3) Regulations.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall by 
        regulation prescribe with specificity the manner in which 
        disclosure shall be made in transactions at wholesale or retail 
        (including transactions by mail, telephone, or Internet or in 
        retail stores).
    ``(d) Failure to Disclose.--The Secretary of Agriculture may impose 
on a person that fails to comply with subsection (b) a civil penalty of 
not more than--
            ``(1) $1,000 for the first day on which the failure to 
        disclose occurs; and
            ``(2) $250 for each day on which the failure to disclose 
        continues.''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act take effect on the 
date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>