Organization For Competitive Markets
P.O. Box 6486
Lincoln, NE 68506
Date: April 9, 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Steve Cady: 402.792.0041
Lincoln, NE ~ The Organization For Competitive Markets told the USDA that country of origin labeling can be very efficient if it merely presumes that all products are of domestic origin unless labeled otherwise. OCM joined 36 organizations in the coalition Americans for Country of Origin Labeling in seeking the least cost approach for regulatory efficiency.
Today was the deadline for submitting comments on USDA’s Voluntary Labeling Guidelines. No proposals for mandatory labeling have been published by USDA at this time.
“The USDA can choose the ‘dragnet approach’ in verifying the country of origin, or it can choose to merely track the food that is already labeled at the borders,” said Fred Stokes, OCM president. “Approximately 90% of the fruits, vegetables and meat we consumer are produced in this country. It does not take a university economist to understand that it costs less to verify ten percent of the products rather than one hundred percent.”
“The law requires that retailers label product as to country of origin, but does not specify how to verify the claims,” says Michael Stumo, OCM’s general counsel. “USDA has the discretion to recognize the actual facts on the ground and presume that most of the covered commodities are of U.S. origin unless identified otherwise. Since international trade rules allow us to require imported food to be labeled as a condition of entry to our market, we can merely track that pre-existing information all the way to the consumer.”
OCM praised USDA for retreating from its position that producers will require third party verification of country of origin. USDA also received praise for making clear that no new records will be required by producers for compliance. Producer records maintained for tax and health purposes will be sufficient.
The Organization For Competitive Markets is a multidisciplinary, nonprofit group of farmers, ranchers, academics, attorneys, and policy makers dedicated to reclaiming the agricultural marketplace for independent farmers, ranchers and rural communities.
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