I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3329
To require country of origin labeling of raw agricultural forms of ginseng,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 16, 2001
Mr. OBEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned
A BILL
To require country of origin labeling of raw agricultural
forms of ginseng, and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘Ginseng Truth in La-
beling Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE OF COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.
(a) DEFINITION OF GINSENG.—In this section, the
term ‘‘ginseng’’ means any herb or herbal ingredient
that—
(1) is a part of any plant of the genus Panax;
and
(2) is offered for sale in or as a food or dietary
supplement under the name of ‘‘ginseng’’.
(b) DISCLOSURE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—A person that offers ginseng
for sale as a raw agricultural commodity shall dis-
close to potential purchasers the country of origin of
the ginseng.
(2) IMPORTATION.—A person that imports gin-
seng into the United States shall disclose the coun-
try of origin of the ginseng at the point of entry of
the United States, in accordance with section 304 of
the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1304).
(c) MANNER OF DISCLOSURE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The disclosure required by
subsection (b) shall be provided to potential pur-
chasers by means of a label, stamp, mark, placard,
or other clear and visible sign on the ginseng or on
the package, display, holding unit, or bin containing
the ginseng.
(2) EXISTING LABELING.—If ginseng is labeled
regarding country of origin by the packer or im-
porter or another person, a retailer of the ginseng
(2) by striking the section heading and all that
follows through ‘‘A publication’’ and inserting the
following:
‘‘SEC. 403B. DIETARY SUPPLEMENT LABELING.
‘‘(a) EXEMPTIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A publication’’;
(3) by striking ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—Subsection
(a) shall’’ and inserting the following:
‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY.—Paragraph (1) does’’;
(4) by striking ‘‘(c) BURDEN OF PROOF.—In
any proceeding brought under subsection (a),’’ and
inserting the following:
‘‘(3) BURDEN OF PROOF.—In a proceeding to
determine whether a publication does not constitute
labeling by reason of paragraph (1),’’; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(b) USE OF THE NAME GINSENG.—For the pur-
poses of section 403, the name ‘ginseng’ or any name that
includes the word ‘ginseng’ shall be used in reference only
to an herb or herbal ingredient that—
‘‘(1) is a part of a plant of 1 of the species of
the genus Panax; and
‘‘(2) is produced in compliance with United
States law regarding the use of pesticides.’’.
(b) ENFORCEMENT PLAN.—Not later than 180 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, the United States
Commissioner of Customs, the Commissioner of Food and
Drugs, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency, the Attorney General, and the Federal Trade
Commission shall jointly submit to Congress a plan to
achieve effective enforcement of the law prohibiting the
importation of dietary supplements mislabeled as ginseng.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act and the amendments made by this Act take
effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of enact-
ment of this Act.
Æ