By Steven Hedlund
On April 4, 2005, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin enforcing country of origin labeling, the law requiring retailers to label seafood products as to their country of origin and whether they’re wild or farmed. Although COOL was part of the 2002 Farm Bill, the rules governing it weren’t unveiled until Sept. 30, 2004, leaving retailers and suppliers only six months in which to comply. Here’s what they need to know in order to abide by the law.
No. Only retailers who sell more than $230,000 of produce annually, as defined by the 1930 Perishables Agricultural Commodities Act, are required to label seafood products as to their country of origin and method of production, says Justin LeBlanc, VP of government relations for the National Fisheries Institute in McLean, Va.
Supermarkets and box stores like Wal-Mart are subject to COOL, but independent seafood markets and specialty food stores are not.
“If you’re a seafood market,” says LeBlanc, “you’d have to sell a lot of lemons to qualify.”
Restaurants, including those located within retail outlets, are also exempt from COOL.
No. Seafood used as an ingredient in a processed food item is exempt from COOL.
Cooked-, canned-, cured- and smoked-seafood products such as fish sticks, breaded shrimp, pickled herring, surimi seafood, soups, stews, chowders and pâtés are exempt. So are marinated seafood and combinations such as seafood medleys and crab-stuffed fish fillets. Frozen seafood products harvested before Dec. 6, 2004, are also off the hook, allowing suppliers to move existing inventories without the proper labeling through the pipeline.
Questions about which products are subject to COOL may be e-mailed to cool@usda.gov.
Retailers may use a label, stamp, placard, band or twist-tie on the package or in the display case holding the product to list country of origin and method of production.
The law does not specify the exact placement or size of the country-of-origin and method-of-production labels, other than stating that they must appear separately from the product’s name or ingredients list.
Wild seafood labeled as “product of the United States” must be harvested in U.S. waters or by a U.S.-flagged vessel and processed in the United States or aboard a U.S.-flagged vessel. Farmed seafood must be hatched, raised, harvested and processed in the United States.
Seafood harvested in U.S. waters that has, as defined by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, undergone “substantial transformation” outside the United States may not be labeled as “product of the United States.”
Imported product processed in the United States must be labeled “from [country], processed in the United States.” When an imported product is blended or commingled, such as a bag of shrimp from a number of sources, each country must be listed alphabetically.
Abbreviations may be used to indicate the country of origin. For example, “US” and “USA” are acceptable for the United States, and “UK” is acceptable for the United Kingdom.
Wild refers to naturally or hatchery-born fish or shellfish harvested in uncontrolled waters or beds. For example, Alaska salmon are considered wild, even though the state’s hatcheries in 2003 yielded nearly 2 billion eggs and released into the wild almost 1.5 billion fish.
Conversely, farmed refers to fish or shellfish harvested in a controlled environment. Sounds simple, but it’s more complicated than it sounds. Shellfish harvested on public property are considered wild, while shellfish harvested on private or leased property are considered farmed.
Shellfish are also considered farmed when production enhancements such as artificial structures, nutrients and protection from Mother Nature and predators are used. For example, rope-grown mussels must be labeled as farmed.
Only wild, wild-caught, farmed and farm-raised are acceptable terms for COOL compliance. Ocean caught, caught at sea, cultured, cultivated and ranched are not.
Only the USDA has the authority to enforce the law. But the agency will partner with state agencies to administer COOL. Although state agencies are barred from seizing product that is not COOL compliant, they may ask retailers for records.
The USDA must notify retailers of a potential violation and hold a hearing at their request. Retailers are not liable for the accuracy of the information suppliers provide.
If a violation is discovered, retailers have 30 days to remedy it. Retailers who willfully disregard COOL are subject to civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation. Suppliers also have 30 days to comply and are subject to civil penalties, whether the violation was deliberate or unintentional.
On top of COOL penalties, retailers and suppliers may be subject to additional fines under the 1938 Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which prohibits false or misleading labeling.
For the USDA to trace violations, retailers must keep records that identify a product by lot number or other unique identifier for one year after the transaction. Suppliers must also maintain records identifying the source and recipient of a product for one year.
Not yet. The public has until Jan. 3 to comment on them one more time. Send comments by e-mail to cool@usda.gov, by fax to (202) 720-3499 or by mail to Country of Origin Labeling Program, Room 2092-S, Agriculture Marketing Service, USDA, STOP 0249, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250-0249.