Supermarkets

Most do not know that there is a bill that has been passed which contributes to why food prices are higher. This bill is not going away so you can expect that this added expense passed on to you is here to stay.  Government intervention costs money, usually.

The newly accepted Farm Bill includes specific Country of Origin labeling.  As of Sept 30th of this year, all products that are not processed have to display a label that tells you where it came from.  When you buy meat, you will know whether it came from the US or not.  When you buy fruit and vegetables, you will know where they were grown and harvested.  I am looking at an acorn squash sitting in a basket on my kitchen table.  It has a label that says, “Acorn Squash, Product of Canada.” 

The cost of labeling every product is expensive, I have heard up to a half a billion per year for retailers.  They have to pay for paper, printing and application of these labels.  Someone has to be hired to manage this process. In addition, labeling programs have to be run to maintain and report this bill’s requirements  Before the retailer receives the products, there is an additional cost to the suppliers who have to monitor and verify the country of origin for each one. Alot of extra time and paperwork is involved; each costs money.  Who do you think pays for this new requirement?  You, the consumer.  Both the supplier and the retailer pass the added expenses on to you. 

Now I know it is fun to know where you food is coming from, and, it is important to know where imported foods were grown and harvested.   However, I cannot understand why those products with a United States of America origin have to be labeled.  Why couldn’t this requirement be limited to imports and save us consumers some money? This would also encourage consumers to buy US products - good for the economy.

The reason processed foods do not fall into the labeling requirement is that is too difficult to list the country of origins for all the ingredients.  They skate.  Now you are looking at frozen entrees that may contain imported produce, meat or fish, and you won’t know it.  If the fact that it came from a country such as China is a concern for you. .. well, you lose out here. 

Some where the balance between the need to know and common sense solutions has been lost here.  Still, you get more for your money when you buy fresh produce, meat and fish!

… for the health of your family,
ellen

As of Sept. 30, of this year (2008), a federal law “require supermarkets and other big food retailers to label or otherwise display the country of origin for meat, produce and certain kinds of nuts.  (uncooked beef, chicken lamb, pork and goat meat, raw peanuts, pecans, and macadamia nuts , fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, ginseng, fish and shellfish)  A number of foods will be exempt, including processed foods like breaded chicken, roasted peanuts or packages of mixed vegetables.”  … this applies to products sold in grocery stores and mass-merchandise outlets.  It effectively exempts small food outlets and such places as butcher shops, restaurants and school cafeterias.”  If these exempted purveyors of food are smart, they will also identify the places of origin.

There is a transition time, allowing those produce produced or packaged before Sept. 30th to be exempt.  Food producers were given six months to comply.  Then they will be fined.   Organizing the labeling of all products takes time and a billions of dollars.  This grace period is reasonable.  The good news is that it won’t be long before you know where you food is coming from - a plus when you are trying to avoid unregulated growing procedures and want to save money with more locally produced and shipped foods.

Questions: There is a noticeable absence of some foods such as turkey and other nuts and seeds.  We will have to investigate this. Secondly, will this cost be passed on to us, the consumer… probably.

Is this progress?  In this global economy we say YES.  You should have a choice of buying an onion grown in Georgia or Mexico.  Do you agree?

Source: David Kesmodel, Julie Jargon, “Labels Will Say If Your Beef Was Born in the USA”, Wall Street Journal, 9/23/2008, pp. D1, D2.