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Food labeling program to beginPIERRE, S.D. (AP)--A retail labeling law for fresh meats, fruits and vegetables will be implemented across the nation in the next six months on an interim basis to give all parties time to adjust and comply with the regulations. U.S. Department of Agriculture officials said Oct. 1 that consumers will be able to tell where those products come from by looking at labels, stickers, placards and stamps placed on them in grocery stores. Final regulations for the labeling law required by the 2008 farm bill should be ready by year's end, said Bruce Knight, USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. "USDA has taken a very pragmatic approach to implementation and done this in a very commonsense manner," he said. Farm groups have long pushed for country-of-origin labels. Meat from animals that are born, raised and slaughtered in the United States must be designated as such, Knight said. Another label will spell out multiple countries of origin, such as "Product of U.S., Mexico and Canada." Farm groups complained recently that the regulations were written in a way that would allow meatpackers to avoid identifying meat as exclusively U.S. products by using the multiple-origin label on all products. But Knight said Oct. 1 that USDA has since clarified the interim rules to ensure that doesn't happen. The rules state it is not permissible to use labels stating the product is from multiple countries on meats solely born, raised and slaughtered in the U.S. if those meats are processed without mixing during the meatpacker's "production day." If U.S.-produced meat is mixed on the same day with meat from other nations, such as Canada or Mexico, it may be designated with mixed labels. Lloyd Day, USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service administrator, said retailers will be educated about the labeling requirements until April, when penalties will begin. Violators will have 30 days to comply or face $1,000 fines for each violation, he said. "We want to make sure that everyone will be able to come into compliance as quickly as possible," Day said. The enforcement program will cost USDA $9.6 million, but Congress has yet to approve funding, he said. Day said USDA will begin enforcement by tapping $1 million provided for monitoring country-of-origin labels on fish and shellfish, which was required earlier. Some groups, including the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, have opposed a mandatory labeling program. The law's leading opponents are grocery stores and large meatpacking companies, many of whom mix U.S. and Mexican beef, along with other businesses involved in getting products to supermarket shelves. They say the tracking and the paperwork needed to comply with the law is too burdensome and would cause them to raise prices. Country-of-origin labeling was included in the 2002 farm bill and was set to go into effect on Sept. 30, 2004, for beef, lamb, pork, fish, fruits and vegetables. Congress has repeatedly pushed back the deadline for all products in the bill except seafood. Processed foods are exempt. So are restaurants and other food service establishments. The labeling requirement is popular with small, independent ranchers who sell their own products. Date: 10/17/08 Advertisement
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