In providing notice of the country of origin as required by the Act, the following requirements shall be followed by retailers:

(a) General. Labeling of covered commodities offered for sale whether individually, in a bulk bin, carton, crate, barrel, cluster, or consumer package must contain country of origin as set forth in this regulation.

(b) Exemptions. Food service establishments as defined in §65.135 are exempt from labeling under this subpart.

(c) Exclusions. A covered commodity is excluded from this subpart if it is an ingredient in a processed food item as defined in §65.220.

(d) Labeling Covered Commodities of United States Origin. A covered commodity may bear a declaration that identifies the United States as the sole country of origin at retail only if it meets the definition of United States country of origin as defined in §65.260. The United States country of origin designation for muscle cut covered commodities shall include all of the production steps (i.e., “Born, Raised, and Slaughtered in the United States”).

(e) Labeling Muscle Cut Covered Commodities of Multiple Countries of Origin from Animals Slaughtered in the United States. If an animal was born and/or raised in Country X and/or (as applicable) Country Y, and slaughtered in the United States, the resulting muscle cut covered commodities shall be labeled to specifically identify the production steps occurring in each country (e.g., “Born and Raised in Country X, Slaughtered in the United States”). If an animal is raised in the United States as well as another country (or multiple countries), the raising occurring in the other country (or countries) may be omitted from the origin designation except if the animal was imported for immediate slaughter as defined in §65.180 or where by doing so the muscle cut covered commodity would be designated as having a United States country of origin (e.g., “Born in Country X, Raised and Slaughtered in the United States” in lieu of “Born and Raised in Country X, Raised in Country Y, Raised and Slaughtered in the United States”).

(f) Labeling Imported Covered Commodities.

(1) Perishable agricultural commodities, peanuts, pecans, ginseng, macadamia nuts and ground meat covered commodities that have been produced in another country shall retain their origin, as declared to U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the time the product entered the United States, through retail sale.

(2) Muscle cut covered commodities derived from an animal that was slaughtered in another country shall retain their origin, as declared to U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the time the product entered the United States, through retail sale (e.g., “Product of Country X”), including muscle cut covered commodities derived from an animal that was born and/or raised in the United States and slaughtered in another country. In addition, the origin declaration may include more specific location information related to production steps (i.e., born, raised, and slaughtered) provided records to substantiate the claims are maintained and the claim is consistent with other applicable Federal legal requirements.

(g) Labeling Commingled Covered Commodities. In the case of perishable agricultural commodities; peanuts; pecans; ginseng; and macadamia nuts: For imported covered commodities that have not subsequently been substantially transformed in the United States that are commingled with covered commodities sourced from a different origin that have not been substantially transformed (as established by CBP) in the United States, and/or covered commodities of United States origin, the declaration shall indicate the countries of origin in accordance with existing Federal legal requirements.

(h) Labeling ground lamb, ground goat, and ground chicken. The declaration for ground lamb, ground goat, and ground chicken covered commodities shall list all countries of origin contained therein or that may be reasonably contained therein. In determining what is considered reasonable, when a raw material from a specific origin is not in a processor's inventory for more than 60 days, that country shall no longer be included as a possible country of origin.

(i) Remotely Purchased Products. For sales of a covered commodity in which the customer purchases a covered commodity prior to having an opportunity to observe the final package (e.g., Internet sales, home delivery sales, etc.), the retailer may provide the country of origin notification either on the sales vehicle or at the time the product is delivered to the consumer.

[74 FR 2704, Jan. 15, 2009, as amended at 78 FR 31385, May 24, 2013; 81 FR 10761, Mar. 2, 2016]