National law forces food companies to label products with country of origin

By: Silvia Milanova

Posted: 10/7/08

Walking through the aisles of the local P&C grocery store, customers find stacks of fresh fruits and vegetables, a plethora of packaged meat and countless bags and containers of nuts. Each food item has a label on it with its country of origin.

This is the result of a new law passed Sept. 30 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It requires all retailers to label perishable food products with the country of origin and their method of production, farm-raised or wild. Beginning in the spring, retailers will be fined up to $10,000 if caught violating the new law.

Foods that need COOL, or country-of-origin-labeling, include certain nuts, chicken, fish, fresh fruits, lamb, pork, raw beef, shellfish and vegetables, according to the Department of Agriculture's Web site. The label must be in a location where it can be read and understood by the customer.

Syracuse University is exempt from this law, said Ruth Sullivan, a registered dietitian at SU. Those who are going to need labels on their products are the companies providing the university with food. Tyson, for example, will have to label their chicken's country of origin, but this will not affect the university carrying the product.

"We're still going to get our food from the same places as before," Sullivan said. "We work with reputable companies. But you want to know what's in your food and where it comes from. You'd be surprised what's in a food product."

SU Food Services tries to buy local products whenever possible, Sullivan said. Syracuse Banana, which provides the bananas found in dining halls, works with a local farmers' market. Most small delis found on campus, such as Blinker and Eggers, also try to carry local produce whenever it's available.

For a number of college students, what's most important is the price.

Sean Conley, the night manager at P&C, has noticed that tomato sauce and pasta are the two most frequently bought products.

"College students love pasta," Conley said. "You just grab it off the shelf, go home, cook or microwave it, eat it, and it's gone."

Quentin Sica, a junior sociology major, said he rarely looks at food labels.

"I always buy the Price-Club, cheap stuff," Sica said. "The price is a lot more important than the label when you're in college."

Others, such as sophomore marketing major Arunima Kochhar, look for different things when buying produce. Kochhar goes grocery shopping every week or two and likes to buy fresh fruit, meat and vegetables.

"Personally, I'd like to know where the food I'm buying comes from," Kochhar said. "If it's from a country that recently had a problem, like China, then I would be more careful about buying products from that country. It would be good to know."

But some foods, such as meat and fish sold in butcher shops and markets, are exempt from labeling. So are foods served in restaurants, bakeries and cafeterias, processed foods, and those mixed or cooked with other foods.

The law first took affect in 2002, but was criticized by retailers and food companies because they thought that it'd be too costly to implement. It also only covered fish and shellfish products. With the new scare of food-borne illnesses abroad, some consumers are planning on paying more attention.

"I think it's a good idea to have labels, especially if you have personal preferences," said Chrissy Ames, junior anthropology and history major. "You don't want to contract some illness from some poorly produced vegetable. I haven't seen the labels yet, but I'll keep my eyes open for them. It can't hurt to have them."

smilanov@syr.edu