U.S. food groups develop origin labeling program for consumers

U.S. food groups develop origin labeling program for consumers    The largest food organizations in the United States have come together to develop a program to inform consumers about future country of origin labeling.
   Representatives of the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Pork Producers Council, National Fisheries Institute, Food Marketing Institute, and National Grocers Association said they will establish the program this spring.
   The groups plan to develop a “consensus voluntary labeling program” to provide a cost-effective replacement to the program mandated by Congress in the 2002 Farm Bill.
   “We all agree that the goal is to give consumers useful information about where their food comes from,” said United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association president Tom Stenzel in a statement. “What is needed is an industry-driven framework for providing country of origin information that is market-driven and does not increase the cost of food by imposing needless bureaucratic requirements.”
   The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that to implement the mandatory labeling rule in the first year alone will cost the industry up to $3.9 billion.
   “We do not need to create a bureaucratic nightmare that will drive small retailers and producers out of business,” said Tim Hammonds, president and chief executive officer of the Food Marketing Institute.
   In a Nov. 25 congressional conference report, lawmakers agreed to delay the implementation of mandatory origin labeling for meats and produce, excluding fish, until Sept. 30, 2006, instead of Sept. 30, 2004 as originally prescribed. The origin labeling delay language was included in an $820 billion omnibus appropriations bill passed by the House Dec. 8. The Senate is expected to take up the measure as early as this week.
   Some industry and consumer groups urged Congress to stick with the Sept. 30, 2004 implementation of mandatory origin labeling after the announcement of the Washington state cow with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or “mad cow” disease. These groups cite that origin labeling would help with tracking sick livestock in the future.
   Eric Davis, president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, disagrees.
   “The mandatory labeling law was never designed to promote food safety,” he said. “We have other laws for that purpose, and we are now working with the government to strengthen those measures and make sure that the American consumer can continue to buy the safest beef in the world.”