From Field to Fork

With the official start of summer last week and July 4 around the corner, soon supermarket produce departments will gear up their locally grown programs. Here in Delaware, roadside stands have already begun to pop up in advance of supermarket offerings. As retailers prep for the arrival of seasonal favorites, it’s important to remember country of origin labeling and how it relates to locally grown.

I heard from state inspectors at a USDA COOL training session that locally grown produce has its share of noncompliance issues – notably the absence of COO on records. For retailers, the easy way to stay in compliance is to encourage their local farmers whom they source product from to include origin information (state is sufficient) on their bills of lading or invoices. This will make the records verification process run more smoothly should documentation be requested for any produce provided by local farmers.

Keep in mind the items selected for review at store level are chosen by the inspector, so depending on the size of a retailer’s locally grown program, it very well could be that those items end up on a recordkeeping review. Also consider that, while shoppers may know that the local produce came from the farmer a few miles down the road or the next county over, the store reviewer may not have that knowledge. Finally, remind your produce department employees to be diligent about ensuring that COO declarations match between signage and the product on display (this is the most prevalent non-compliance issue for all produce items). For more information about COOL, visit the PMA Web site.

According to Deloitte’s 2010 Consumer Food Safety Survey, while 90 percent of consumers believe food-related recalls are on the rise (or on par when compared with findings from Deloitte’s 2008 Consumer Food Safety Survey), fewer people seem to be anxious about them. The results show 65 percent of consumers surveyed are concerned about the quality of the food they eat, a 17 percent decrease from 2008.

The Deloitte study also found that, when making food purchases, Americans are doing more hands-on research and reviewing labels carefully, another indication that they are becoming more engaged in the process behind the foods they buy. Fifty-one percent of Americans say the new country of origin labels help them determine which fresh meat, fish, fruits, or vegetables to purchase, and 45 percent say they would like to find out the country of origin on a Web site for all ingredients in a packaged/bottled food product. This may become of increasing importance to consumers, since the survey found that more than half (53 percent) of consumers frequently or always read the list of ingredients on an unfamiliar packaged or bottled food item; up from 50 percent in 2008.

This is interesting because country of origin labeling (at least in the produce industry) has largely been considered a marketing issue, and not connected to food safety. Yet during Hill meetings several years ago prior to the USDA implementing mandatory origin labeling, I recall a former Senator being resolute in his belief that that COOL was a food safety issue. While the produce industry has made great strides in implementing COOL, there is always room for improvement and the Deloitte survey highlights increased consumer interest – and possibly concern - in the origin of the foods they buy in supermarkets.

Last week during the country of origin labeling training session held by USDA for state-level cooperators, I received a detailed look at how in-store reviews are conducted. Reviews consist of two parts: a visual inspection to confirm COO is being conveyed to consumers, followed by records verification.

With regards to visual inspections, it was noted that all non-compliance situations observed by the reviewer must be reported to USDA – even if the problem is corrected right away and before the review officially ends. It was also stated that for small satellite displays of produce (e.g. bananas in the cereal aisle or produce on markdown racks), COO signage is not needed because the consumer can find origin information in the produce department.

In the records verification component, the reviewer is assigned five pre-selected commodity areas by their state COOL manager. For example, the commodity areas could be frozen fruit, fresh vegetables, peanuts, ground beef, or chicken muscle cuts. Within these commodity areas, the reviewer decides which items for which to request records (e.g. peppers within fresh vegetables or strawberries within frozen fruits) and proceeds with records verification. In the event that a commodity area is not sold in that store, then the next commodity below that area listed on the reviewer’s reference card (see page 2) is used for records verification.

Based on comments made by reviewers, it was suggested that retailers with strong locally grown produce programs ensure that state or country of origin is included on bills of lading and/or invoices. This will make the records verification process run more smoothly should documentation be requested for any produce provided by local farmers.

In talking with state cooperators throughout the session, it was clear that COOL surveillance reviews are one of many responsibilities they have in their daily work, and judging from the detailed and somewhat complex scenarios asked during the Q&A sessions, it was very apparent that these individuals take their reviews seriously. Many thanks to USDA for allowing me to participate in this informative and valuable event.

Yesterday and today, I had the opportunity to participate in USDA’s country of origin labeling refresher training session for state-level cooperators. In conversations with attendees, I learned that the most prevalent issue related to COOL and supermarket produce departments is conflicting COO declarations on signage and Price Look Up stickers. One cooperator I spoke with said he has advised produce managers to quickly double-check their department’s signage against the PLU stickers and to remove any inaccurate signage before the compliance check officially began – so as to avoid being cited for noncompliance. The second most common issue is that of ancillary display signage (highlighting sales or specials) obscuring COO declarations.

As for industry practices, it was suggested that suppliers be mindful of where COO declarations are placed on packaging (e.g. bags, sleeves). If the declaration is made too close to a seam and is rendered partially obscured or otherwise illegible as the packaging is formed, the item may be considered out of compliance if the cooperator cannot reasonably locate and read the declaration.

In terms of future compliance checks, USDA said that follow-up checks on stores that had compliance issues last year will begin in April 2010; however, these stores will be put into a pool and randomly selected for a second visit from a state cooperator.

For additional insights on COOL, visit the country of origin labeling section of the PMA Web site, where we have the January 19 COOL retail trends Webinar, best practices, USDA links, and other resources.

If you missed the January 19 PMA Webinar on country of origin labeling compliance trends at retail, we have just posted the Webinar recording to the COOL page on the PMA Web site. During the session, USDA highlighted three commonly seen COOL challenges at store level:

• Store portioned/packaged items (e.g. cut melons and pineapple, bagged green beans, trayed tomatoes), packaged herbs, and specialty produce frequently do not have any origin declaration.
• Inaccurate origin declarations (e.g. where the sign does not match the country on the PLU sticker) are also common.
• Abbreviations and variant spellings do not unmistakably indicate the country of origin (e.g. the use of “locally grown” or region – instead of U.S. state or country of origin).

As noted during the Webinar, retail surveillance activities will be resuming soon and we’ve just learned that USDA is holding refresher training February 17 and 18 for state-level compliance personnel. So, expect to see an uptick in in-store compliance checks by the end of the month if not early March.

On Tuesday, PMA hosted a free Webinar on country of origin labeling compliance trends at retail. To date, more than 3,800 store reviews have been processed out of 12,700 planned reviews to be completed by September 30, 2010. While there was a lull in review activity near the end of 2009, USDA told us that reviews will be picking up again – likely after the agency’s refresher training for state-level compliance personnel in the coming weeks.

For fruits and vegetables, the largest non-compliance issue was the absence of country of origin information (71% and 87% violations respectively). This was followed by country of origin information being inaccurate (26% for fruit and 9% for vegetables). Other minor violations included COO being illegible or inconspicuous, COO not being in an acceptable form, and COO abbreviations not being unmistakable.

The agency recommended that the best COOL practice retailers could implement is ensuring that COO is not being covered or obscured by other forms of marketing (e.g in-store overwrap of product). USDA also suggested that retailers ensure that origin declarations are in a conspicuous location in close proximity to the display, that COO declarations are readable, and that origin on individual stickers is consistent with origin on signage.

All in all, USDA was very complimentary of the progress the produce industry has made in COOL, citing the use of PLU stickers as a good way to convey origin information to consumers. We will continue to work with USDA on COOL and share updated information on compliance trends as it becomes available. In addition, yesterday’s Webinar was recorded and will be available via the PMA Web site in about a week for those who were unable to attend. We’ll let you know when the recording is posted.

In the meantime, you can check out the USDA presentation here. Many thanks to USDA’s Marty O’Connor, Craig Morris, and Bruce Summers for their willingness to share insights and expertise during yesterday’s Webinar.

At 2 p.m. EST today, PMA will hold a Webinar that addresses country of origin labeling compliance trends at retail. If you have not already registered, you can sign up here. The Webinar will highlight what USDA inspectors are finding in supermarket produce departments, including:

• the top commonly-seen gaps in compliance;
• where training needs to be tightened to avoid risk; and
• concrete examples of compliance and where enhancements are needed.

Following the USDA presentation, Webinar participants will have an opportunity to ask questions of the agency’s experts. I hope you’ll take time out of your schedule to join us later this afternoon.

Here on Field to Fork we’ve talked about country of origin labeling and what USDA inspectors are finding in supermarket produce departments. USDA recently told us they have new data on retail compliance efforts and as a result, PMA is offering a free Webinar to retailers on January 19 at 2 p.m. Eastern. During the Webinar, USDA representatives will outline:

• the top commonly-seen gaps in compliance;
• where training needs to be tightened to avoid risk; and
• concrete examples of compliance and where enhancements are needed.

Following the USDA presentation, Webinar participants will have an opportunity to ask questions of the agency’s experts. To register, visit the Webinar registration page. For additional COOL resources, visit the PMA Web site.

Last week I received an update from USDA on in-store country of origin labeling reviews. I learned that 56 percent of COOL compliance violations are in fresh produce. Of that, 81 percent were related to commodities not having any COOL information on them (be it a sticker or a sign on the bin the product was in). This 81 percent is comprised mostly of vegetables.

USDA also noted that about 15% of the violations are from conflicting information – for example, display signage says the product on display is from Country X, but stickers on the product in the display say the product is from Country Y, or when the information at the point of sale does not match the retailer’s paperwork or information on the master cartons. Another minor signage issue involves the unacceptable use of “and/or.” Per the COOL final rule, display signage must be inclusive and accurate, e.g. “Product of U.S. and Canada” not “Product of U.S. and/or Canada.”

For pre-labeled product, USDA has been asked if there is an expected percentage of items in a display that should carry a sticker. We’ve periodically received this same question here at PMA. USDA responded that there is no prescriptive percentage as mandated by the COOL final rule and that any sort of a stickering “threshold” (for lack of a better term) is based on what the reviewer would deem a “reasonable amount” of stickers. USDA acknowledged that this is a subjective way to look at sticker counts and they are looking at refining this part of the training and review process. USDA also noted that all violations are reported to USDA headquarters where they are reviewed, which provides greater consistency in enforcement.

All in all, the sense I got from USDA is that COOL review process for produce is going well. And PMA retail leaders I’ve talked with have generally categorized any COOL information conflicts between product stickers and signage as “in-store COOL execution errors” that can be remedied with additional training. If you’ve had an in-store COOL review and would like to share your experiences with PMA, please let me know.

Since the country of origin labeling (COOL) final rule went into effect March 16, we’ve known USDA in-store compliance checks would begin, and now we know when. We recently learned that they may begin as soon as June, with supplier traceback audits at some point thereafter. Agency officials have told us that they expect to perform 5,000 retail reviews this year, via cooperative agreements with all 50 states. USDA will also conduct supplier traceback audits on about 2 percent of those reviews. To see what COOL reviewers are being trained to look for, visit the AMS Web site.

It’s important that everyone meet the COOL requirements, so please pass this information along to anyone you think will need it. Remember, there are monetary penalties for both suppliers and retailers found to be in violation of the COOL rule. And if you are subject to a compliance check, please let us know how it goes.