Summary: The containers in which fresh produce from abroad enters the United States must be marked with the country of origin. This identification, however, is not required to be maintained for loose, or bulk, produce at the retail level. A GAO review of the potential costs and benefits of mandatory country-of-origin labeling found that the magnitude of compliance and enforcement costs for this requirement at the retail level would depend on several factors, including the extent to which current labeling practices would have to be changed. In addition, according to the Department of Agriculture and industry, mandatory labeling at the retail level could be viewed by other countries as a trade barrier. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: Fresh Produce: Potential Consequences of Country-of-Origin Labeling, by Robert E. Robertson, Associate Director for Food and Agriculture Issues, before the Subcommittee on Livestock and Horticulture, House Committee on Agriculture. GAO/T-RCED-99-172, Apr. 28 (10 pages).
