New Jersey-2010-A1533-Introduced

An Act concerning identification of the country of origin of meats and produce, and supplementing Title 56 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Country of Origin Signage Act."

2. As used in this act:

"Meat" means beef, lamb, and pork, in ground or muscle cut form, poultry, seafood, and any other animal products designated as meat for the purposes of this act by rule or regulation adopted by the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety, in consultation with the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Senior Services, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).

"Produce" means any perishable agricultural food product or commodity, including fresh fruit and fresh vegetables of any kind.

"Seafood" means any species of fish or shellfish.

"United States" means any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, any territory or possession of the United States, and the territorial waters of the United States.

3. a. No person may sell or offer for sale at retail any meat or produce unless the country of origin of the meat or produce is identified as required by this section.

A sign or placard indicating the country of origin of the meat or produce shall be posted on, in, or by any bulk display, holding unit, or bin in which meat or produce is marketed and shall appear on any in-store sign advertising that product, including any sign indicating the price or sale of that product. Each such sign or placard shall be conspicuously and prominently placed so as to be easily seen by consumers and shall clearly indicate the country of origin.

b. The following shall be identified as originating from the United States:

(1) Farm-raised seafood hatched, raised, and harvested in the United States;

(2) Wild seafood harvested in the United States or by a vessel documented under Chapter 121 of Title 46 of the United States Code or registered in the United States;

(3) Meat from an animal born or hatched, raised, slaughtered or harvested, and processed in the United States; and

(4) Produce planted, grown, and harvested in the United States.

c. If the meat or produce is exclusively from one state, a sign or placard identifying the state name shall be permitted. A sign or placard designating meat or produce as "Jersey Fresh" or "Jersey Grown" or otherwise identifying meat or produce as originating from New Jersey may be permitted, as determined by the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety, in consultation with the Department of Agriculture.

d. Meat or produce shall not be labeled as from the United States if the final retail form contains any blending of domestic product with product that originates from any country other than the United States.

If the meat or produce has been processed or blended in more than one country, the sign or placard shall indicate all of the countries from which the meat or produce originated, if known, or indicate the countries that are known.

If the origin of the meat or produce is unknown and the retailer is unable to determine the country of origin, the sign or placard shall indicate "country of origin unknown," or its equivalent, in a manner prescribed by rule or regulation adopted by the division pursuant to section 4 of this act.

4. a. Within one year after the date of enactment of this act, the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety, in consultation with the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Senior Services, shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), (1) regarding the signage requirements for a person engaged in the retail sale of meat or produce, and (2) otherwise implementing this act.

b. The Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs may require any person subject to the requirements of this act to maintain records for not less than two years to verify compliance with this act and any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto.

5. a. A person who violates this act shall be subject to a penalty of not less than $100 nor more than $250 for the first offense, and not less than $250 nor more than $500 for the second offense, and not less than $500 nor more than $1,000 for each subsequent offense, to be collected in a civil action by a summary proceeding under the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). The municipal court and the Superior Court shall have jurisdiction of proceedings for the enforcement of the penalty provided by this section.

If the violation is of a continuing nature, each day during which it continues constitutes an additional, separate, and distinct offense.

b. The Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety may institute a civil action for injunctive relief to enforce this act and to prohibit and prevent a violation of this act, and the court may proceed in the action in a summary manner.

6. a. Nothing in this act shall be construed to establish any additional signage requirements for any imported processed food product for which a country of origin sign or placard is required pursuant to Section 1304 of the federal "Tariff Act of 1930" (19 U.S.C. s.1304).

b. Nothing in this act shall preclude the use of additional words to describe the grade, quality, or kind of meat or produce offered for sale.

c. This act shall not apply to any farm market, as defined by the Division of Consumer Affairs in consultation with the Department of Agriculture, or any restaurant, cafeteria, mobile food unit, bar, or prepared food establishment.

d. A country of origin sign or placard shall not be required for any prepared food available for immediate retail sale or ready to eat.

7. This act shall take effect immediately except sections 3 and 5 shall take effect one year following the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill would enact the "Country of Origin Signage Act" and require retailers to post a sign or placard indicating the country of origin for all meat and produce in its final retail form when sold in New Jersey. Meat includes beef, lamb, and pork, in ground or muscle cut form, poultry, seafood, and any other animal product designated as such by the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.

Under current federal law, mandatory country of origin labeling exists for fresh produce, seafood including shellfish, red meats, and peanuts but implementation of labeling has continued to be postponed. This bill does not supersede, contradict, or duplicate the federal law because it requires grocers, supermarkets, retailers, and others engaged in the selling of meat and produce to display a sign or placard indicating the country of origin rather than require the food distributor to individually indicate the country of origin by labeling each commodity or product.

The bill provides that meat or produce can be designated as from the United States only if it is exclusively from the United States or its territories and possessions. Signs indicating a commodity is exclusively from one state would be permitted, including "Jersey Fresh" or "Jersey Grown." Any commodity that includes blending of foreign and domestic product or where the commodity's life cycle includes more than one country prior to its final retail form must indicate such on the sign or placard. The bill permits a sign or placard to indicate "country of origin unknown" if information on the meat or produce is unavailable or cannot be determined.

A person found in violation of this bill would be subject to a penalty of not less than $100 nor more than $250 for the first offense, not less than $250 nor more than $500 for the second offense, and not less than $500 nor more than $1,000 for each subsequent offense.

Even though the safety of most foods in the country is overseen by the Food Safety and Inspection Service in the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Food and Drug Administration, a number of recent incidents indicate the growing concern of consumers as they make food purchasing decisions. Research indicates that country of origin labeling, a form of source labeling, can improve the traceability of food or the original source of contamination during a food or health emergency. Additional findings support that the popularity of country of origin labeling has grown and consumers are interested in knowing where their food is raised or harvested. Signs indicating the country of origin will enable consumers to know the source of meat and produce so that they may apply that knowledge in their decision making process.