This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

31441 

Vol. 83, No. 130 

Friday, July 6, 2018 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 52 

[Document No. AMS–FV–08–0075; SC–17– 

326] 

Country of Origin Labeling of Packed 

Honey 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule; clarification. 

SUMMARY: AMS published a final rule in 

the Federal Register on January 4, 2011, 

amending the Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) governing inspection 

and certification of processed fruits, 

vegetables, and miscellaneous products 

regarding Country of Origin Labeling 

(COOL) of Packed Honey. This 

document clarifies obligations for a 

honey packer regarding country of 

origin labeling. 

DATES: Effective July 6, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brian E. Griffin, Standardization 

Branch, Specialty Crops Inspection 

Division, Specialty Crops Program, 

Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1400 

Independence Avenue, STOP 0247, 

Washington, DC 20250; phone: (202) 

748–2155, fax: 202–690–1527, or email 

Brian.Griffin@usda.ams.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: AMS 

published a final rule on January 4, 

2011 (76 FR 251) for Country of Origin 

Labeling of Packed Honey based on the 

2008 Farm Bill. The rule amended the 

regulations governing inspection and 

certification of processed fruits, 

vegetables, and miscellaneous products, 

7 CFR part 52, to include provisions for 

COOL for packed honey and debarment 

of services for mislabeling. 

On August 8, 2016, the National 

Honey Packers and Dealers Association 

(NHPDA), the Western States Honey 

Packers and Dealers Association 

(WSHPDA), the American Honey 

Producers Association (AHPA), the 

American Beekeeping Federation (ABF), 

and Sioux Honey Association (SHA) 

submitted a request asking the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to 

address and clarify country of origin 

labeling as required by U.S. Customs 

law and AMS regulations. Specifically, 

the request sought clarification of 

whether country of origin labeling is 

required for honey that does not bear 

official grade marks. A copy of the 

request is available as a supporting 

document for this document at http://

www.regulations.gov. 

AMS acknowledges the request of the 

NHPDA, WSHPDA, AHPA, ABF, and 

SHA. The Country of Origin Labeling of 

Packed Honey Final Rule, which 

appeared on pages 251–253 in the 

Federal Register (76 FR 251–253), was 

published pursuant to Section 10402 of 

the 2008 Farm Bill (Pub. L. 110–246), 

which amended section 1622(h) of the 

Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 

U.S.C. 1621–1627, 1635–1638) to 

require that all packed honey bearing 

any official USDA mark or statement 

also bear ‘‘legibly and permanently in 

close proximity (such as on the same 

side(s) or surface(s)) to the certificate, 

mark, or statement, and in at least a 

comparable size, the country or 

countries of origin of the lot or container 

of honey, preceded by the words 

‘Product of’ or other words of similar 

meaning.’’ 

Section 52.53 provides for the use of 

approved identification marks, and 

paragraph (h) describes prohibited uses 

of approved identification. The 

statement in the preamble to the rule 

that is in question, ‘‘Conversely, if the 

honey is not officially grade labeled, the 

country of origin labeling is not 

necessary whether the honey is 

domestic or foreign’’, is accurate within 

the context of the rule, which only 

applies to COOL associated with the use 

of approved official USDA marks or 

grade statements. The rule also 

acknowledged that AMS identified 

other Federal rules that may be viewed 

as duplicative or overlapping with this 

rule. 

Under pre-existing Federal laws and 

regulations, country of origin labeling is 

required by the Tariff Act of 1930, 19 

U.S.C. 1304(a), and is enforced by U.S. 

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 

under CBP regulations (19 U.S.C. 

1304(a) and part 134, Title 19 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations (19 CFR 

part 134)). The Tariff Act requires that 

every imported item be conspicuously 

and indelibly marked in English to 

indicate its country of origin to the 

ultimate purchaser. The Food and Drug 

Administration provides guidance on 

COOL on behalf of CBP at www.fda.gov. 

AMS concurs that the Customs ruling 

of 1984 requiring ‘‘every article of 

foreign origin or its container’’ to be 

‘‘legibly, permanently and 

conspicuously marked to indicate the 

country of origin’’ is the law, and that 

this law is in no way invalidated or 

superseded by the additional marking 

requirements required by the 2008 Farm 

Bill. The additional COOL marking 

required by the Farm Bill applies only 

to the country of origin labeling 

statements associated with the existing 

regulations governing the inspection 

and grading of processed fruits, 

vegetables, and miscellaneous products, 

section 52.53, which provides for the 

use of approved identification marks, 

and paragraph (h), which describes 

prohibited uses of approved 

identification. 

In an effort to promote fair 

competition in the honey industry, this 

document clarifies that honey packers 

must include conspicuous and indelible 

labeling, in English, naming the country 

of origin of all imported products, 

regardless of whether the product 

labeling uses approved USDA marks or 

grade statements. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621–1627. 

Dated: July 2, 2018. 

Bruce Summers, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–14509 Filed 7–5–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 


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