[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 184 (Tuesday, September 23, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 49597-49598]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-25134]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service Treasury Decisions

19 CFR Part 134

[T.D. 97-79]


Country of Origin Marking Guidance for Containers of Imported 
Fruit Juice Concentrate

AGENCY: U.S. Customs Service, Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: Policy statement.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this document is to remind the public of the 
existing Customs Service's interpretation of the application of the 
country of origin marking law to imported fruit juice concentrate. 
Customs has previously published guidance on application of the marking 
law to imported juice concentrate in Treasury Decision (T.D.) 89-66. In 
recognition of the fact that accounting for all minor foreign sources 
on the label may make compliance with the marking law prohibitively 
expensive, fruit juice processors have been permitted to comply with 
marking requirements by ``major supplier marking.'' Customs permits 
``major supplier marking'' as an acceptable method of compliance. 
Processors may list up to ten countries if they account for at least 75 
percent of foreign concentrate used. Additionally, the sources listed 
on a juice container must indicate the sources actually used in that 
lot, not the sources used in a representative past importing period. 
The full name of the country of origin must be used unless Customs has 
authorized abbreviations which unmistakably reflect the country of 
origin to the ultimate purchaser.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Cohen, Special Classification 
and Marking Branch (202-482-6980).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In accordance with 19 U.S.C. 1304, and 19 CFR Part 134, Customs 
ensures that imported fruit juice concentrate entering the U.S. in 
large containers, e.g., tanker cars and multi-gallon drums, is properly 
marked to show country of origin. However, the country of origin 
marking requirements set forth in this document are those pertaining to 
labeling that must appear on packages of concentrated or reconstituted 
fruit juice containing imported concentrate that reach ultimate 
purchasers. The purpose of this document is to remind the public of 
these requirements.
    Customs Service Decision (C.S.D.) 85-47 (Headquarters Ruling Letter 
(HRL) 728557, dated September 4, 1985) held that containers of orange 
juice in frozen concentrated or reconstituted forms which contain 
imported concentrate, must be marked on the labels with the foreign 
country of origin of the products. This decision was based on the 
determination that the imported foreign orange juice concentrate used 
in the production of frozen concentrated or reconstituted orange juice 
is not substantially transformed after undergoing further processing in 
the U.S., including blending with other batches of orange concentrate, 
addition of water, oils and essences, pasteurization or freezing, and 
repacking. Customs determined that the frozen concentrated or 
reconstituted orange juice did not emerge from the processing as a new 
article with a new name, character, and use. United States v. Gibson-
Thomsen Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 267, (C.A.D. 98) (1940).
    By a notice published in the Federal Register on July 30, 1986 (51 
FR 27195), Customs announced that the country of origin marking 
requirements of orange juice set forth in C.S.D. 85-47, later upheld 
substantively in National Juice Products Association v. United States, 
10 Ct. Int'l Trade 48, 628 F. Supp. 978 (1986), were extended to 
include all other imported fruit juice concentrate which undergoes 
processing in the U.S. similar to that performed on orange juice 
concentrate. Therefore, all frozen concentrated or reconstituted fruit 
juices made with foreign concentrate processed in a manner similar to 
that described in C.S.D. 85-47 must be marked to indicate the country 
of origin of the foreign concentrate. This position has been in effect 
since February 1, 1987. T.D. 86-120 (51 FR 23045 (June 25, 1986)).
    Customs does not require ``all sources marking'' on containers of 
juice made with imported concentrate. Customs allows ``major supplier 
marking'' as an acceptable method of compliance for marking of imported 
juice concentrate. Major supplier marking permits processors to list up 
to ten foreign sources to account for 75 percent or more of imported 
concentrate. Customs concluded from previous consultations with those 
in the juice industry that in the majority of circumstances, five or 
fewer sources will account for at least 75 percent of foreign 
concentrate present in a lot, and that in virtually all cases, ten or 
fewer sources will account for 75 percent of the foreign concentrate. 
If ten sources do not amount to 75 percent of foreign concentrate, then 
all foreign sources must be listed. For purposes of complying with this 
requirement, ``lot'' is defined as it is in Food and Drug 
Administration regulations, 21 CFR 146.3(h)(1)(i), as ``[a] collection 
of primary containers or units of the same size, type, and style 
manufactured or packed under similar conditions and handled as a single 
unit of trade.'' ``Manufactured or packed under similar conditions'' is 
defined, for purposes of compliance with 19 U.S.C. 1304, as all the 
containers or units containing the same blend of foreign concentrates.
    The listing of foreign sources must consist of the countries 
contributing the greatest percentages adding up to at least 75 percent. 
For example, processors may not skip over an ``undesirable'' source 
contributing 10 percent in order to list the next two 
``unobjectionable'' sources contributing five percent each. However, 
the order within the list need not change based on ranking. For 
example, if a processor is blending foreign concentrates from two 
countries contributing 60 and 15 percent, respectively, and the two 
countries reversed proportions, the same label could be used on both 
lots.
    In addition, Customs reminds the public that section 134.45, 
Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.45), provides that:

    Except as otherwise provided in * * * this section, the markings 
required by this part shall include the full English name of the 
country of origin, unless another marking to indicate the English 
name of the country of origin is specifically authorized by the 
Commissioner of Customs * * *.

    Only authorized abbreviations which unmistakably indicate the name 
of a country, such as ``Gt. Britain'' for ``Great Britain'' or 
``Luxemb'' and ``Luxembg'' for ``Luxembourg'' are acceptable and 
variant spellings which clearly indicate the English name of the 
country of origin, such as ``Brasil'' for ``Brazil'' and ``Italie'' for 
``Italy,'' are acceptable. Rulings may be obtained from the

[[Page 49598]]

Customs Service regarding what country abbreviations are acceptable for 
purposes of compliance with the marking statute. Customs notes that it 
is incorrect to abbreviate the word ``concentrate'' to ``conc'' when 
disclosing the origin of juice concentrate since the ultimate purchaser 
will not unmistakably identify ``conc'' as an abbreviation for the word 
``concentrate.''

Summary

    Imported fruit juice concentrate which is imported into the U.S. 
and used in the production of concentrated or reconstituted fruit juice 
is not substantially transformed after undergoing further processing in 
the U.S. Accordingly, all such imported concentrate is subject to the 
country of origin marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304, and 19 CFR 
Part 134. Processors may use ``major supplier marking'' in preparing 
labels for containers of juice made with imported concentrate. If a 
processor obtains 75 percent or more of the imported concentrate used 
in a particular lot from ten or fewer countries, only those countries 
need be revealed. The full name of the country of origin must be used 
unless Customs has authorized abbreviations which unmistakably indicate 
the country of origin of the concentrate to the ultimate purchaser.

Drafting Information

    The principal author of this document was David E. Cohen, Office of 
Regulations and Rulings, U.S. Customs Service. However, personnel from 
other offices participated in its development.

    Date: September 17, 1997.
Stuart P. Seidel,
Assistant Commissioner, Office of Regulations and Rulings.
[FR Doc. 97-25134 Filed 9-22-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4820-02-P