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USDA/NCBA uses Taxpayer Funds Pimping NAIS

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Anonymous

Guest
From the Western Livestock Journal:
GUEST editorial
USDA uses tax dollars to purchase public policy


The USDA has paid $2.1 million to the National Cattle and Beef Association to secure their agreement to promote USDA’s National Animal Identification System (NAIS) to the association’s 29,000 members. Similar agreements have been made with the American Angus Association, the American Sheep Industry Association, the National Pork Board, the U.S. Animal Identification Organization, the National Milk Producers Federation, the Future Farmers of America, and who knows how many other groups.


NAIS, first proposed as a mandatory program, met ferocious opposition from ranchers, farmers, homesteaders, and a host of individuals who own horses and other animals. So strong was the opposition, that more than a dozen states introduced legislation to block the program at the state level.


Not to be outdone, USDA changed its strategy, and announced the program would be “voluntary,” but then started handing out money to secure cooperation from both non-profit organizations and state departments of agriculture. Michigan and Wisconsin were among the first states to make the program mandatory at the state level, and Colorado and North Carolina were among the first states to require that animals shown by 4-H and FFA students be registered in the “voluntary” national program.


Western ranchers are especially wary of any program that the government describes as “voluntary.” They remember all too well that the grazing permit program was introduced as a “voluntary” service offered by USDA, years ago. This program quickly became mandatory, and more grazing rights, transferred by treaty to the ranchers, were swallowed up by the government. Now, government claims that ranchers have no grazing rights, but are allowed to graze so-called “public lands,” for a fee, and only to the extent that the government allows.


Many livestock owners see a similar process in the works with NAIS. Once a livestock owner “voluntarily” registers his “premises” with the federal government, and reports the number and type of animals that reside there, the government can easily make the program mandatory, and dictate the number and type of animals that may be housed on that premises—anytime the government decides to do so.


There is no legitimate reason to impose this program on producers. The claim that it will allow the government to effect a 48-hour trace back in the event of a disease outbreak is bogus. There are already multiple programs in place to adequately identify diseased animals, as well as their recent history. There has been no serious disease outbreak in this country for decades. The occasional emergence of a diseased animal has been quickly identified and controlled. Most often, these diseased animals are imported from other countries.


NAIS is designed by, and for, large exporters, and the manufacturers of the identification tags and tag readers. USDA has become the tool of these industries, and USDA is using the tax dollars of all Americans to impose the will of these industries on all producers.


Congress has not yet authorized USDA to implement any animal identification system, but it has supplied the hundreds of millions of dollars USDA has used to develop the program and to pay special interest groups to help sell it to the public. NAIS is not necessary. It will be an unbearable burden on small producers; it will do nothing to improve food safety, and it will swell the already bloated USDA bureaucracy, while enriching only the industry that designed the program.


The National Animal Identification System is a USDA program that must be stopped.

Bert N. Smith
Ruby Valley, NV
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Producers differ on cattle tracking
By Stephen J. Hedges
February 24, 2008
RENO, Nev. - Though it looks remote, there may not be a busier place to raise cattle than on the land along the Arizona-Mexico border that belongs to the ZZ Cattle Corp.

Dan Bell, president of ZZ, told a cattle conference here recently that he and his ranch hands frequently come across fences cut by illegal immigrants entering the United States from Mexico. Those cut fences, he said, also enable cattle from Mexico to wander onto ZZ's land, which has been in Bell's family since 1938.

Bell said he has a good rapport with his Mexican ranching neighbors, who are just as concerned about losing their cattle. But the continued presence of Mexican cattle crossing into the United States helped persuade Bell to enlist in a federal program in which cattle producers register their animals as a means of stopping the spread of ailments such as mad cow disease.

"I'm not worried about our cattle," he said. "And we have great neighbors. But if our region has a problem, we want to be identified."

Taking part in the U.S. Department of Agriculture program, Bell said, will enable him to maintain his cattle operations without interruption.

But Bell is in the minority as a supporter of the federal government's animal identification effort. Shortly after the discovery in 2003 of mad cow disease in the United States, the government renewed efforts to establish a national animal identification database that will allow authorities to trace animals back to their origins within 48 hours.

The USDA contends that animal identification is a first line of defense against the uncontrolled spread of diseases. Health officials believe that human consumption of beef from cattle suffering from bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, can lead to a deadly human illness similar to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which attacks the nervous system and brain.

In 2006, the agency reduced the level of testing for mad cow disease from about 1,000 tests daily to 100 a day, a level it said was adequate. About 35 million cattle are slaughtered annually.

On paper, the USDA's National Animal Identification System sounds simple enough. The agency wants to register each animal and the premises where it was born and raised.

But the program is not on track, primarily because of widespread mistrust of the USDA among cattle producers. After nearly four years, only 440,000 of the nation's 1.4 million cattle operations have signed up.

Skeptics rattle off a host of reasons why animal identification is a bad idea, from the difficulty of tagging young calves to the more conspiratorial Big Brother intrusion of the federal government. They also complain that the plan is redundant, since many states and the USDA record information on livestock and where they are raised.

"You can walk into any Farm Service Bureau office, and they'll pull out an aerial photograph of your farm or ranch," said Dr. Max Thornsberry, president of R-CALF, a group of cattle producers who oppose the ID plan. "They already know where my farm is."

Thornsberry, a cattle feedlot operator and veterinarian in Richland, Mo., said the program would require an extensive new bureaucracy similar to that of the Social Security Administration, with an office in every county and what he sees as an ineffective recordkeeping system. Social Security, he said, can't properly dispense checks to his 90-year-old grandmother. He doesn't think a local NAIS office will do any better in its job.

The Department of Agriculture wants all ranches and farms and their cattle registered by 2009. USDA officials said that will allow authorities to trace the source of serious animal diseases within 48 hours of their discovery. The concept was fueled by the 2003 discovery of a Washington cow that suffered from mad cow disease, the first ever in the United States. USDA officials initially had a difficult time determining that cow's origins; it was eventually discovered that it had come to the U.S. from Canada, which has found 11 mad cow cases since 2003.

In 2005, two more U.S. mad cow cases were discovered - one in Texas and one in Alabama. The Alabama case presented problems with tracing the animal's origin.

"We need to remember that cow from Alabama," said Bruce Knight, USDA undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs. "Nobody was ever able to trace it back to its origins."

After the animal-ID proposal received an initial frosty reception, the USDA shelved plans to make participation mandatory. But the program picked up some important cattle and dairy industry endorsements last year, including support from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, perhaps the industry's most influential trade group.

Food-safety experts argue that the NAIS is vital to protect consumers from the unintentional spread of mad cow and other food-borne diseases. Cattle industry marketing representatives say NAIS will help restore confidence in U.S. beef exports, which plunged after 53 countries banned U.S. beef after the 2003 mad cow discovery. That lost trade has cost the cattle industry billions of dollars.

R-CALF has issued a memo to its members listing 10 reasons why they should oppose NAIS. Of particular concern, R-CALF said, is the registration of their "premises."

Just what that means isn't clear, they say. Some cattle producers graze cattle in a number of locations, and it is not uncommon for them to transport cattle to feedlots, pastures and slaughter plants a third of the way across the country. Thousands of cattle are on the move every day in the country.

In its memo, R-CALF tells its members that "registering a premises could result in greater legal exposure of cattle producers for events that occur after the registrant's cattle leave the farm or ranch."

But what really angers R-CALF members is the USDA's insistence that they take part in the animal ID program, while the same department failed to implement a congressionally required country-of-origin labeling law that would have required meatpacking companies to disclose when products such as hamburger contain meat from abroad.

USDA officials are "opposed to labeling our products that come into our country, and they're all talking about food safety," said Herman Schumacher, an R-CALF founder who runs a livestock auction in Herried, S.D. "They're opposed to labeling the beef that's born and raised here in the U.S., and yet they encourage the national animal ID system."

The USDA's Knight said the animal identification program's success depends on convincing often-cantankerous cattle producers that his agency has no ill intent.

"This is a group of people who, by their nature, don't like to be told what to do," Knight said. "Now we've got the leadership it will take to get these guys to sign up."


Mad cow isn't the only concern. Several states, including California, Minnesota and Michigan, are experiencing outbreaks of bovine tuberculosis. The spread of other cattle illnesses, such as brucellosis and foot and mouth disease, are also a concern.

"The average trace back on bovine tuberculosis has taken us 199 days," Knight said. "Our goal is to do it in 48 hours."

But some in the cattle industry support the animal identification program. Dr. John Peirce, a veterinarian and customer relations representative with the AzTx Cattle Co. of Hereford, Texas, said NAIS makes good business sense. He said the ID papers allow his company to show meatpacking companies an animal's history. That can mean a $25-a-head premium.


Stephen J. Hedges writes for the Chicago Tribune.


Copyright © 2008, The Baltimore Sun
 

cutterone

Well-known member
I have to ask OT -
Do you put plates on your truck or are you affraid that "Big Brother" would be watching your every movement? :roll: :shock: :wink:
 

cutterone

Well-known member
Part two due to phone call ...

Trust me - corp business knows more about you than govt agencies. Right now there are bots, spiders, and trojans watching you every minute of every day on your computer. They know where you are, what your spending habits are. What political, tobacco, beer, and areas of interest preferences are. If you pay taxes, bank, have automobiles, buy supplies, or join an orgaization there is a paper trail and that information is sold to business.
I think our efforts should be more directed towards producing a quality product and promoting that product so that the consumer will be willing to accept it as a quality and safe product. If implimenting a NAI system, origin of product, and being more transparent will insure that we are willing to take that commitment to provide the consumer with those standards then it is worth the effort.
No argument from me that the various cattle associations, National Beef Associations, USDA, and even us have not done enough. Big business and radical groups have a strangle hold on producers. Each of us can either be part of the problem or part of the solution.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
cutterone said:
I have to ask OT -
Do you put plates on your truck or are you affraid that "Big Brother" would be watching your every movement? :roll: :shock: :wink:

Cutterone- I've used an ID system for years- tags with my name and brand and an individual cow number on them and a permanent hot iron brand.....Montana is a brand state so any cross county movement of cattle or any change of ownership is already recorded.....We have given the buyers info on the cattle (origin-birthdate-feed-shots-etc. etc.) for years on a signed affidavit.....

So why should we FORCE our ranchers into putting huge sums of our money into buying computers and ID readers (some of these ranchs have as many as 10 scales they'd need to buy readers for)-forcing salebarns, vets, and transporters to buy ID readers ( all of which will increase the cost they charge us for their services), raise tax's/user fees employeeing and building a huge new government bureaucracy to inspect/police the ID law, and give more power to any ever growing Federal Bureaucracy....

Don't you Liberals ever get tired of making the Federal bureaucracy bigger- giving them more power- and in turn costing us more money :???:

This isn't the industry driving the government like it should be- its the Federal government dictating to the industry- which is what that pimp post shows...
 

cutterone

Well-known member
First of all I'm NOT a liberal and no I'm not for larger government. You know nothing about me personaly other that what I post and IF you really read what others post and pay attention rather than make biased assumptions you would know that.
As a producer there are several factors, goals, and selection criteria that I must take into consideration every day. Never forgetting what has worked in the past, researching for new methods, and being open to change & looking at the facts not the hype. Every day we as producers must prove ourselves. Source and age verification, the use of genetics to produce growth and quality, and the data to prove our results will be the path to success. “Many times the reasons we resist change is not for economic, scientific, or consumer demand but rather moving outside our comfort zones.”
When the promotion of your & my very liveyhood is concerned this makes a difference! It amounts to trust, sales and the future of our business. Sometimes you must look at the big picture and make changes. The current system sure is not working which tells us that changes must be made.
You are either very misimformed or just outright stubborn.
Fact:
1. You do not have to own a reader to run your operation.
2. You don't have to own a computer to keep records. Yes, you need to keep records which apparently you do and should be commended and I guess your pencil & paper satisfy your needs.
3. Yes, there will be some minor expenses added to each segment but if consumer trust is built out of this then it will increase sales. If we don't have sales then we don't need to worry about the USDA, NCBA, NAIS, or the size of government - we will be WalMart greeters.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
The system in Montana has worked perfectly- in fact during the bangs investigation, several thousand cattle were tracked- and the USDA told the Brand Inspectors that thru our brands law we were able to track and trace cattle (trader cattle) that they would not be able to with the current NAIS ID system...

To me its the rest of the world/country that is behind- and we that have had a system that has worked for 100 years, shouldn't be penalized for all the folks and states that sat on their duffs and did nothing.....

This will very negatively impact many good cattlemen- that don't even know what a computer is- but when the drugstore cowboys of USDA and the folks that are promoting this plan (many of which wouldn't make a pimple on a good cowmans arse) were looking into their books, these guys were actually working the cattle business and raising great cattle..

And I don't think you've even looked at costs-- ex.- as my vet said if he has to individually ID every animal on a health certificate, get the computer equipment to immediately access USDA with this info like the rule requires- send those numbers immediately to the USDA--- the costs of Health Inspections could increase to $5-10 each animal...
Its going to take a lot of exports to pick up that charge, along with the movement inspection charges, cost of tags, cost of readers and compatible computer equipment, raise in salebarn charges, extra time and manpower needed for the additional tagging...

Right now even Bruce Knight testified to Congress that the technology is not there to allow it to work at the speed of commerce and without adding extensive additional costs/time...

And where isn't our system working? If your talking the meat recalls, this USDA mandatory ID will mean nothing toward them as, as soon as the head comes off- the NAIS ID tracking ends....Like Porker said the Packers don't want anyone to be able to check back and find that Wetback # 25739 cut a gut and spilled sh*t all over a carcass...

You need to get out the original NAIS proposal and read it-that is still in place and the current overall plan- not the watered down working sheets that they stick a little bit out piece by piece when promoting propoganda...And the history of how NAIS came about...

If you truly are against big government-take a look at how the system affected Australia and the police state type bureaucracy they ended up with...

If ID is really about marketing- let the market (higher prices/premiums for IDed cattle) bring it about-- not a government Agency that just wants to enlarge its bureacratic power.....So far around here- the buyers have been paying the top prices for hot iron branded PERMANENT IDed cattle, with signed affidavits and 3rd party (brand inspector) verification....

And if using millions $ of taxpayer money to propogandize the building of Federal bureaucracy isn't a Liberal idea- than I guess I've never known conservatism--but so many of the young folks connect this current neocon Bush type Republicanism with conservatism- and they are way off the mark too.... :(
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
The customer couldn't care less whether the grocer can track the package of beef they're buying to the individual ranch or not. Heck, they don't know the difference between a Holstein and a Brahma. What value to them is whether their roast came from Nebraska or Montana? If you want to enhance sales, give them a product that they can be assured of is free from anything that will make them sick and will be nutricious and tasty. Those are the basics and we haven't gotten that down yet. That's where our energies should be expended.

The fact that the USDA brings up sales is a big red flag. This is supposed to be a disease tracking deal. It should be able to stand on those merits without them having to sweeten the pot with false promises of increased sales. The same outfit that is telling you that consumers don't care which country their beef comes from is telling you to sign up because they care which ranch it comes from? Think about before you sign up.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Sandhusker said:
The customer couldn't care less whether the grocer can track the package of beef they're buying to the individual ranch or not. Heck, they don't know the difference between a Holstein and a Brahma. What value to them is whether their roast came from Nebraska or Montana? If you want to enhance sales, give them a product that they can be assured of is free from anything that will make them sick and will be nutricious and tasty. Those are the basics and we haven't gotten that down yet. That's where our energies should be expended.

The fact that the USDA brings up sales is a big red flag. This is supposed to be a disease tracking deal. It should be able to stand on those merits without them having to sweeten the pot with false promises of increased sales. The same outfit that is telling you that consumers don't care which country their beef comes from is telling you to sign up because they care which ranch it comes from? Think about before you sign up.

Yep-- Most folks when asked to name a ranch could probably only come up with the King Ranch and the Ponderosa...Unless local- They have no idea who/what/where the Willow Creek Ranch or the Ole Johansen Ranch is- or the Four Corners Feedlot :roll: :???:

But while NCBA fights against getting more local slaughter plants by backing the Big Packers vertical integration and industry concentration by opposing the ban on Packer Ownership- they support individual ranch ID - but just don't tell the consumer what country it comes from :???: :roll: :wink:
 

mrj

Well-known member
Again, Sandhusker, you are confused! COOL and NAIS are two very different critters.

NCBA members believe COOL type of beef ID is better if MARKET DRIVEN than if government mandated. Most especially, the flawed COOL law you gave us serves no one well.

Consumers choosing the current labelled beef will make more and more businesses willing and able to afford costs to label it as product of USA and/or specific ranch because consumers are showing us they will pay for it. Market driven COOL at it's best!!!!

NAIS is animal ANIMAL HEALTH protection first, then a possibly a food safety tool, if needed, and may be used as an animal marketing tool. I believe your bunch as successful in preventing use of NAIS to validate COOL back to the producer......."too burdensome" one of your former leaders stated. Have you reversed that thought since you booted him?

mrj
 

cutterone

Well-known member
If ID is really about marketing- let the market (higher prices/premiums for IDed cattle) bring it about-- not a government Agency that just wants to enlarge its bureacratic power.....So far around here- the buyers have been paying the top prices for hot iron branded PERMANENT IDed cattle, with signed affidavits and 3rd party (brand inspector) verification....

So you do agree that IDed cattle bring a premium - Hmm.. but only you system works??

You state that you tag & brand cattle now but RFID tagging takes more labor??

And I don't think you've even looked at costs-- ex.- as my vet said if he has to individually ID every animal on a health certificate, get the computer equipment to immediately access USDA with this info like the rule requires- send those numbers immediately to the USDA--- the costs of Health Inspections could increase to $5-10 each animal...

Your vet would have no reason to upload anything from the USDA.. you as a producer simply provide a list of the tag numbers from your records to attach with the health inspections if you so desire. The one & only thing required is the premis ID #.

The fact that the USDA brings up sales is a big red flag. This is supposed to be a disease tracking deal. It should be able to stand on those merits without them having to sweeten the pot with false promises of increased sales. The same outfit that is telling you that consumers don't care which country their beef comes from is telling you to sign up because they care which ranch it comes from? Think about before you sign up.

What part of consumer confidence perpetuating sales don't you get??
First of all COOL stands for country of origin - not state, farm or individual.
If like Robert Mac you are promoting your brand name and type specific product then you have the right and ablity to add that to labeling at your expense.

Sandhusker - you of all people have complained more about bringing in diseased cattle from Canada yet you find fault with a system that could bring back comsumer trust and giving them the information of where what they eat comes from. It's primary job is for disease traceback but we get the added benifit.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Well you must have a different type vet than I do-- mine says that they require the animal ID # and that if he is going to have to sign off and verify it- then they will have to be individually read....Else ways you could tell him any number you want to- and the certificate wouldn't be accurate as to which ones were in that load....Isn't worth losing a license over...And it isn't a "if you so desire" type thing- that is part of the law/rule....

And tagging/records will take much more labor- one or two more people for every job- branding (tagging and cross referencing tag numbers)- shipping- reading and recording every time you move pastures- or a cow gets comingled-- sales ring-- etc. etc. If the sales ring has to take 12 hours to sell what it normally takes 6 hours- those additional labor costs will be added to the commission you pay...

NAIS is not needed for M-COOL and can't be used for it....
You are correct you have the right and ability to identify your cattle further- and further label the beef you sell--- but it should be your right- not a bureaucratic rule mandating you to do it...

LIBERALS :roll: :wink:
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
Cutterone, "What part of consumer confidence perpetuating sales don't you get??
First of all COOL stands for country of origin - not state, farm or individual.
If like Robert Mac you are promoting your brand name and type specific product then you have the right and ablity to add that to labeling at your expense.
Sandhusker - you of all people have complained more about bringing in diseased cattle from Canada yet you find fault with a system that could bring back comsumer trust and giving them the information of where what they eat comes from. It's primary job is for disease traceback but we get the added benifit.

I don't see how NAIS will enhance consumer confidence. As I just pointed out, do you think it means anything to them whether the package of meat came from Quarter Circle X in Nebraska or Broken Arrow in Montana? These people couldn't pass a breed ID test that our 4-H kids could ace, but ranch of origin is useful information to them? Also, doesn't the NAIS information stop at the packer? How is that going to enhance your sales? Where do you get any benefit from that? Again I'll ask you if you don't see something fishy with the same outfit that is telling you that consumers don't care which country their beef comes from is telling you to sign up because they care which ranch it comes from? That makes no sense!
 

cutterone

Well-known member
OT - you remind me of a friend of mine. He is just bound & determined to be a negative, grumpy old fart! :D You wouldn't be happy unless hanged with a new rope! I think you just resist change.
Let's agree to disagree. We both know that anything that the govt gets involved with will get screwed up but I still believe that there are benefits to this program - surely no govt offical dreamed it up - that would take brains!
 
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Anonymous

Guest
cutterone said:
OT - you remind me of a friend of mine. He is just bound & determined to be a negative, grumpy old fart! :D You wouldn't be happy unless hanged with a new rope! I think you just resist change.
Let's agree to disagree. We both know that anything that the govt gets involved with will get screwed up but I still believe that there are benefits to this program - surely no govt offical dreamed it up - that would take brains!

I pretty much agree with you-- One thing I've learned in years of working with the Federal Government-- federal bureaucracy and common sense don't fit into the same sentence...And that scares me.....

I have a Premise ID and have had for years- and as a Brand Inspector have always promoted ID for cattle ...If it becomes profitable where the rewards overcome the costs, I'd do it...Even thought about buying RFID tags to tag calves with- but then found out the technology is not available to write corresponding cow/calf numbers on the tags- so that would mean another tag...When you get thru with tattoos- bangs tattoos, bangs tags, cow eartags, mandatory ID tags- you run out of ear room (unless you start running some of Jersey lillys cows ) :roll: :wink: :lol:

I've had government ID's for years-- ASCS has a farm # for the south place, the north ranch, the deeded land in the community pasture....Every time I go to the ASCS, they have a new satellite image of the place (keep looking to see if they caught me taking a leak behind the barn :shock: :oops: ) so they already know where I'm at....

The problem I see- and I don't think many are looking at is the bureaucratic infrastructure that will have to be set up and the number of bureaucrats/inspectors hired to make it operate/police it....Now its just a tag in the ear (that only tells you who stuck the tag in the ear :roll: )- but when they move to make it a true tracking system as proposed in the rule (which I don't think the technology is yet available to do at the speed of commerce and without undue costs) , I don't think most realize the problems/costs/manpower associated with it.....
 

cutterone

Well-known member
Sometimes it's like getting married - along with the Mrs comes the mother in law and you just have to somewhat embrace it, work with and mold it into a workable situation. :shock: :lol:
I say get it in place and try to improve the govt part. Heck if we can't get that end cleaned up it doesn't much matter!
 

mrj

Well-known member
Can anyone quote the part in the law that says the NAIS information on an animal CANNOT be used BY THE PRODUCER for his own marketing enhancement, as well as for the health ID the government wants?

mrj
 

PORKER

Well-known member
The COOL provision of the Farm Bill applies to all imported and domestic covered commodities. Moreover, the law specifically identifies the criteria that products of U.S. origin must meet. The law further states that “Any person engaged in the business of supplying a covered commodity to a retailer shall provide information to the retailer indicating the country of origin of the covered commodity.” And, the law does not provide authority to control the movement of product. In fact, the use of a mandatory identification system (NAIS) that would be required to track controlled product through the entire chain of commerce is specifically prohibited.
.AMS also will focus its resources for the six months immediately following the effective date of this interim final rule on industry education and outreach. After a careful review of all its implications, AMS has determined that its allocation of enforcement resources will ensure that the rule is effectively and rationally implemented. This AMS plan of outreach and education, conducted over a period of one year, should significantly aid the industry in achieving compliance.

USDA will seek to enter into partnerships with States having existing enforcement infrastructure to assist in the administration of this law. USDA will determine the scheduling and procedures for the compliance reviews. Only USDA will be able to initiate enforcement actions against a person found to be in violation of the law. USDA may also conduct investigations of complaints made by any person alleging violations of these regulations when the Secretary determines that reasonable grounds for such investigation exist. In addition, the Agency plans to publish a compliance guide that will provide the industry with information on compliance and the phasing in of active enforcement.

Records that identify the supplier, the product unique to that transaction by means of a lot number or other unique identifier, and for products that are not pre-labeled, the country of origin and method of production (wild and/or farm-raised) information must be maintained for a period of 1 year from the date the origin and production designations are made at retail.
 
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