The Wall Street Journal reports today on the upcoming deadline for all steaks, potatoes and kumquats to flash their passports at the supermarket.
Effective September 30, federal law requires that supermarkets and other big food retailers label or otherwise display the country of origin for meat, produce and certain kinds of nuts. According to the WSJ, “the labeling rule is welcome news for consumers who base their decisions in part on where foods were raised or grown.”
Consumer advocacy groups have been pushing for such a bill for years, saying it can help shoppers avoid foods from countries with lax safety regulations. China has been headlining that list. (Though, of course, we all know that we can encounter problems with the domestic food supply as well.)
Labeling is mandated for meat from cows, lambs, chickens, pigs and goats, as well as for fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, ginseng, macadamia nuts, pecans and peanuts.
Foods that have been cooked or processed will not have the labels. Only retailers who sell at least $230,000 of fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables annually are required to provide the labels.
Don’t expect to see everything stamped with country of origin on October 1st. Meat, nuts and produce packaged before Sept. 30 does not have to be labeled. And producers will have the standard six-month grace period to comply.
Though the folks at FMI (Food Marketing Institute), a trade group for food retailers, oppose the labeling law, saying that compliance money could be better spent on food safety issues, others, including the Center for Food Safety, see this as one giant step toward ensuring accountability in the food supply.
I’m happy to call myself a locavore. I won’t touch a drop of imported bottled water; I shop farmers markets regularly; and I always check labels in order to buy local or at least, American, when possible.
However, I also realize the importance of being open-minded and flexible when making choices. Yes, I frequently buy Muir fire-roasted tomatoes instead of San Marzano; and
However, I’m likely to choose an Australian Shiraz over a California Syrah because of the value. I haven’t found an American cheese that can hold a candle to the La Tur or Robiola from Italy’s Piedmonte region. And I know I have plenty of company when I opt for New Zealand rack of lamb over that raised in Colorado.
Last year I wrote in The San Diego Union-Tribune about the party atmosphere that envelops the meat department at Costco’s Morena Blvd. location every Friday afternoon. On that day, sales of the warehouse giant’s New Zealand-raised racks of lamb and chops jumps through the roof. Weekend cooks who buy them cite the down-under version’s superior flavor and texture. For recipes, including Griled Lamb Chops with Pomegranate Eggplant Relish, check out that story.
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