I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1145
To require that perishable agricultural commodities be labeled or marked
as to their country of origin and to establish penalties for violations
of such labeling requirements.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 17, 1999
Mrs. BONO (for herself, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr.
BILIRAKIS, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. BOYD, Mr. BROWN of Cali-
fornia, Mr. BROWN
of Ohio, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mrs.
CHENOWETH, Mr. CONDIT, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr. DAVIS of Florida, Mr.
DEFAZIO, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. EVER-
ETT, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. GOSS, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. HOOLEY of
Oregon, Mr. HORN, Mr. HUNTER, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. KIL-
PATRICK, Mr. KING, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. LEACH, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr.
MICA, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mrs.
MINK of Hawaii, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. NEY, Mr. PETERSON of Pennsyl-
vania, Mr. POMEROY, Mr. QUINN, Ms. RIVERS, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr.
SANDERS, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. SHAW, Mr. SHOWS, Mr. SMITH of
New Jersey, Mr. STUMP, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mr. WELDON
of Florida, and Mr. WEXLER) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Agriculture
A BILL
To require that perishable agricultural commodities be
labeled or marked as to their country of origin and
to establish penalties for violations of such labeling re-
quirements.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Produce Consumers’
Right-to-Know Act’’.
SEC. 2. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING OF PERISHABLE
AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES.
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
(1) FOOD
SERVICE
ESTABLISHMENT.—The
term ‘‘food service establishment’’ means a res-
taurant, cafeteria, lunch room, food stand, saloon,
tavern, bar, lounge, or other similar facility, which
is operated as an enterprise engaged in the business
of selling foods to the public.
(2) PERISHABLE
AGRICULTURAL
COMMODITY;
RETAILER.—The 
terms 
‘‘perishable 
agricultural
commodity’’ and ‘‘retailer’’ have the meanings given
the terms in section 1(b) of the Perishable Agricul-
tural Commodities Act, 1930 (7 U.S.C. 499a(b)).
(b) NOTICE OF COUNTRY OF ORIGIN REQUIRED.—
Except as provided in subsection (c), a retailer of a perish-
able agricultural commodity shall inform consumers, at
the final point of sale of the perishable agricultural com-
modity to consumers, of the country of origin of the per-
ishable agricultural commodity. This requirement shall
apply to imported and domestically produced perishable
agricultural commodities.
(c) EXEMPTION
FOR FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISH-
MENTS.—Subsection (b) shall not apply to a perishable
agricultural commodity to the extent that the perishable
agricultural commodity is—
(1) prepared or served in a food service estab-
lishment; and
(2)(A) offered for sale or sold at the food serv-
ice establishment in normal retail quantities; or
(B) served to consumers at the food service es-
tablishment.
(d) METHOD OF NOTIFICATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The information required by
subsection (b) may be provided to consumers by
means of a label, stamp, mark, placard, or other
clear and visible sign on the perishable agricultural
commodity or on the package, display, holding unit,
or bin containing the commodity at the final point
of sale to consumers.
(2) LABELED
COMMODITIES.—If a perishable
agricultural commodity is already individually la-
beled regarding country of origin by a packer, im-
porter, or another person, the retailer shall not be
required to provide any additional information to
comply with this section.
(e) VIOLATIONS.—If a retailer fails to indicate the
country of origin of a perishable agricultural commodity
as required by subsection (b), the Secretary of Agriculture
may assess a civil penalty on the retailer in an amount
not to exceed—
(1) $1,000 for the first day on which the viola-
tion occurs; and
(2) $250 for each day on which the same viola-
tion continues.
(f) DEPOSIT OF FUNDS.—Amounts collected under
subsection (e) shall be deposited in the Treasury of the
United States as miscellaneous receipts.
(g) APPLICATION OF SECTION.—This section shall
apply with respect to a perishable agricultural commodity
offered for retail sale after the end of the 6-month period
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.
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