Still reading the proposed comments, (43 pgs) seems they are trying to cover these situations! Going to be a lot of exclusions! Processed foods will not be labeled nor products that have been substantially transformed.
These are just proposed comments, & I don't know if they are the latest up to date or not.
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To address the concerns raised by the
commenters, AMS has chosen to define
a ‘‘processed food item’’ utilizing a 2-
step approach. First, a retail item
derived from a covered commodity that
has undergone a physical or chemical
change, causing the character to be
different from that of the covered
commodity is deemed to be a processed
food item. Examples include oranges
that have been squeezed and made into
orange juice, a fresh leg of pork that has
been cured and made into a ham,
peanuts that have been ground and
made into peanut butter, or flesh of a
fish that has been restructured and
made into a fish stick. These retail items
have undergone a physical or chemical
change such that they no longer retain
the characteristics of the covered
commodity and thus consumers would
not use the items in the same manner as
they would the covered commodities.
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The following might answer some of your questions Rod & Question
As such, products that have
been substantially transformed by a U.S.
processor generally are not required to
bear a country of origin declaration.
Similarly, under current FSIS policies
and directives, imported meat and meat
products that are further processed in
the United States are not required to
bear country of origin declarations on
the newly produced products or
subsequent products made from them as
these products are now considered to be
domestic.
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I am just picking out parts of the comments that we have discussed. You will have to read the whole thing yourself.
However, AMS
recognizes that to label products of an
animal that was only born in country X,
but raised and slaughtered in the United
States solely as ‘‘Product of country X’’
does not reference the significant
production steps that occurred in the
United States. Therefore, under this
proposed rule, products that were
produced in both a foreign country and
the United States would be labeled at
retail as being imported from the foreign
country and also for the production
steps that occurred in the United States.
For example, pork products derived
from a pig that was born in country X,
raised and slaughtered in the United
States would be labeled as ‘‘Imported
from country X, Raised and Slaughtered
in the United States.’’ Alternatively,
products may also be labeled to
specifically identify the production
step(s) that occurred in the country
other than the United States if the
animal’s identity was maintained along
with records to substantiate the origin
claims. For example, products derived
from a pig that was born and raised in
country X and slaughtered in the United
States could either be labeled as
‘‘Imported from country X, Slaughtered
in the United States’’ or ‘‘Born and
Raised in country X, Slaughtered in the
United States.’’ AMS invites further
comment on the use of alternative terms
for the term ‘‘slaughtered.’’
AMS also recognizes that in some
cases, an animal will undergo
production steps in two or more foreign
countries prior to entering the United
States for additional processing or a
final process such as slaughter. In these
cases, the meat products derived from
an animal that was born in country X,
raised in country Y, and slaughtered in
the United States would be labeled at
retail as being imported from country Y
and for any production steps occurring
in the United States. For example, if a
calf was born in country X and raised
in country Y before being imported for
slaughter in the United States, the
resulting meat products derived from
this animal would be labeled as
‘‘Imported from country Y, Slaughtered
in the United States.’’