Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/01/13/2017-00588/addition-of-mandatory-country-of-origin-labeling-requirements-for-venison
Timestamp: 2018-04-24 23:51:01
Document Index: 279973720

Matched Legal Cases: ['ART 65', 'art 65', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965', '§\u200965']

Federal Register :: Addition of Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling Requirements for Venison
82 FR 4198
4198-4203 (6 pages)
Doc. No. AMS-LPS-16-0014
AMS-LPS-16-0014
PART 65—COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING OF LAMB, CHICKEN, GOAT, AND VENISON MEAT, PERISHABLE AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES, MACADEMIA NUTS, PECANS, PEANUTS, AND GINSENG
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2017-00588 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2017-00588
Start Preamble Start Printed Page 4198
All comments should reference the docket number AMS-LPS-16-0014; the date of submission; and the page number of this issue of the Federal Register. Comments may also be submitted to: Julie Henderson, Director, COOL Division; Livestock, Poultry, and Seed Program, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA); Room 2614-S, STOP 0216; 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-0216. AMS will make the comments available for public inspection at the above address during regular business hours or via the Internet at www.regulations.gov.
This proposed rule would amend the country of origin labeling regulations (7 CFR part 65). AMS proposes to add definitions for cervidae (§ 65.117), ground venison (§ 65.178), and venison (§ 65.270). The proposed rule would amend definitions for covered commodity (§ 65.135(a)(1) and (2)), production step (§ 65.230), raised (§ 65.235), slaughter (§ 65.250), and United States country of origin (§ 65.260(a)) by adding references to venison. AMS proposes to amend country of origin notification Start Printed Page 4199(§ 65.300(h)) to add references to ground venison, and responsibilities of suppliers (§ 65.500(b)(1)) to include references to venison and cervidae.
Additional administrative changes are necessary to reflect the withdrawal of beef and pork commodities from the COOL regulations as published in the Federal Register on March 2, 2016 (81 FR 10761). Therefore, AMS is proposing to amend production step (§ 65.230), raised (§ 65.235), and United States country of origin (§ 65.260) by removing references to beef and pork from these definitions.
USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) estimated that, in 2012, there were 4,042 deer farms and 1,199 elk farms, totaling 5,241 venison farms, in the U.S. This is a decrease from 7,571 in 2007. Of the venison producers identified in a Texas A&M University 2007 study,[1] 32 percent of survey respondents were breeding and hunting operations and 7 percent were hunting-only operations. Moreover, the trophy-hunting segment of the venison industry represents the primary end market for the breeding stock industry. Breeding and hunting and hunting-only operations are not considered to be producers of venison for consumption that are subject to COOL. Relying on the NASS and Texas A&M data, AMS assumes that 60 percent of the ranches, or 3,144 producers, raise animals for meat consumption. Virtually all venison-producing operations that would be subject to the amended COOL regulations are small businesses under the criteria established by the Small Business Administration (SBA) [13 CFR 121.201]. SBA defines small agricultural producers as those having annual receipts of less than $750,000.
From 2011 to 2015, USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) reported venison imports of 21.78 million pounds valued at $79.3 million. For those years, the average annual venison imports were 4.356 million pounds valued at $15.86 million, or $3.64 per pound. During this period, the United States saw a dramatic increase in venison imports, with virtually all of it originating from New Zealand. For an imported venison covered commodity, the importer of record must ensure that Start Printed Page 4200records provide clear product tracking from the port of entry into the U.S. to the immediate subsequent recipient. In addition, the records must accurately reflect the country of origin in relevant U.S. Customs and Border Protection entry documents and information systems. Regulated firms must maintain records to verify the accuracy of COOL declarations for a period of one year from the date of the transaction (purchase or sale of animals for slaughter, or venison meat at each point in the supply chain). AMS expects that importers already maintain records mandated by other Federal Statutes (e.g., Bioterrorism Act of 2002; Tariff Act of 1930) that would be sufficient to verify compliance with COOL.
Of intermediaries potentially affected by the proposed rule, SBA classifies as small those manufacturing firms with less than 500 employees and wholesalers with less than 100 employees. Therefore, approximately 93 percent of the general-line grocery wholesalers are small businesses. According to NASS' 2012 Economic Census, there were a total of 2,162 meat and meat products specialty wholesaler firms. Of these, 2,043 firms had less than 100 employees, meaning approximately 95 percent of meat wholesalers are small firms. That same Census reported that 2,354 out of 2,629 (90 percent) livestock processing and slaughtering firms were in operation and classified as small businesses. USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) reported that 577 FSIS-inspected establishments (22 percent) in the U.S. process (i.e., slaughter and process or process-only) non-amenable species, which include venison.
Accordingly, the Administrator of AMS has conducted this Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis and has determined that this proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact Start Printed Page 4201on a substantial number of small entities. However, AMS invites comments concerning potential effects of this proposed rule.
Table 1—Estimated Initial Set-Up and Estimated Annual Storage Maintenance Costs Associated With Paperwork Burden
3. Add § 65.117 to read as follows:
§ 65.117
4. Amend § 65.135 by revising paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) to read as follows:
§ 65.135
5. Add § 65.178 to read as follows:
§ 65.178
6. Revise § 65.230 to read as follows:
§ 65.230
7. Revise § 65.235 to read as follows:
§ 65.235
Raised means, in the case of lamb, chicken, goat, and venison, the period of time from birth until slaughter or in the case of animals imported for immediate slaughter as defined in § 65.180, the period of time from birth until date of entry into the United States.
8. Revise § 65.250 to read as follows:
§ 65.250
9. Amend § 65.260 by revising paragraph (a) to read as follows:
§ 65.260
United States country of origin.
10. Add § 65.270 to read as follows:
§ 65.270
11. Amend § 65.300 by revising paragraph (h) to read as follows:
12. Amend § 65.500 by revising paragraph (b)(1) to read as follows:
§ 65.500
(b) * * * (1) Any person engaged in the business of supplying a covered commodity to a retailer, whether directly or indirectly, must make available information to the buyer about the country(ies) of origin of the covered commodity. This information may be provided either on the product itself, on Start Printed Page 4203the master shipping container, or in a document that accompanies the product through retail sale. In addition, the supplier of a covered commodity that is responsible for initiating a country(ies) of origin claim, which in the case of lamb, chicken, goat, and venison is the slaughter facility, must possess records that are necessary to substantiate that claim for a period of 1 year from the date of the transaction. For that purpose, packers that slaughter animals that are tagged with an 840 Animal Identification Number device without the presence of any additional accompanying marking (i.e., “CAN” or “M”) may use that information as a basis for a U.S. origin claim. Packers that slaughter animals that are part of another country's recognized official system (e.g. Canadian official system, Mexico official system) may also rely on the presence of an official ear tag or other approved device on which to base their origin claims. In the case of cervidae, producer affidavits shall also be considered acceptable records that suppliers may utilize to initiate origin claims, provided it is made by someone having first-hand knowledge of the origin of the covered commodity and identifies the covered commodity unique to the transaction.
1. Anderson, D.P., Frosch, B.J., and Outlaw, J.L. Economic Impact of the United States Cervid Farming Industry. APFC Research Report 07-4, August 2007. Agricultural & Food Policy Center. Texas A&M University: College Station, TX.