[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5024 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5024

 To exclude the species known as bullet tuna and frigate tuna from the 
    standard of identity established for canned tuna, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2018

Mrs. Radewagen introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To exclude the species known as bullet tuna and frigate tuna from the 
    standard of identity established for canned tuna, 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 AND FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Re-Establishing 
Accuracy in Labeling of Tuna Act of 2018'' or the ``REAL Tuna Act of 
2018''.
    (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) There are no fishery management plans in place for the 
        commercial harvest of the bonito fish known as Auxis thazard 
        and Auxis rochei.
            (2) In 2013, Customs and Border Protection ruled that 
        bonito fish of the Auxis species in airtight containers not in 
        oil are dutiable at 4 percent ad valorem which created a 
        dramatic advantage in comparison to tunas which under the 
        Harmonized Tariff Code are dutiable to 35 percent for tuna 
        preserved in oil and 12.5 percent for tuna preserved in water.
            (3) Since 2013 there has been a dramatic increase in the 
        unregulated harvest of these species by foreign fishing fleets 
        for sale into the United States market.
            (4) The Food and Drug Administration allows Auxis thazard 
        and Auxis rochei to be labeled and sold as ``light tuna'' so 
        long as the fish is not darker in coloration than Munsell value 
        5.3.
            (5) The combination of the duty differential and the 
        ability to label Auxis thazard and Auxis rochei as light tuna 
        has caused a flooding of the United States food service and 
        canned tuna markets.
            (6) Consumers are purchasing Auxis thazard and Auxis rochei 
        under the mistaken belief they are purchasing tuna such as 
        albacore, skipjack, or yellowtail.

SEC. 2. STANDARD OF IDENTITY FOR CANNED TUNA.

    (a) In General.--The standard of identity for canned tuna, as 
issued by the Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to 
section 401 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 
341), is deemed not to include the following species:
            (1) Auxis rochei (Risso, 1810)--Bullet tuna.
            (2) Auxis thazard (Lacepede, 1800)--Frigate tuna.
    (b) Regulations.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, shall amend such 
regulations as may be necessary to implement subsection (a).
    (c) Effective Date.--Subsection (a) takes effect on the date that 
is 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act.
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