BILL NUMBER:S1147

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the agriculture and markets law, in
relation to labeling requirements for fish wholesalers

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This legislation would amend the agriculture and markets law to
require that wholesalers of fish and/or seafood may only sell such
fish or seafood that is in sealed and clearly labeled containers; and
to require the labels to include 1) the identity of the commodity, 2)
the weight of the commodity, 3) the name and address of the shipper,
packer, or distributor, and 4) the state and county of commodity
origin.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one would amend the agriculture and markets law by adding a
new section 214-o, which would require that any wholesaler of fish
and/or seafood may only sell edible or otherwise saleable fish or
seafood for consumption purposes in sealed and clearly labeled
containers. The labels must include the following: 1) the identity of
the commodity, 2) the weight of the commodity, 3) the name and address
of the shipper, packer, or distributor, and 4) the state and county of
commodity origin.

              

Section two provides that this act shall take effect immediately.

JUSTIFICATION:

Under the existing federal law, wholesalers of fish/seafood are
required to attach labels that provide correct information of the
weight, identity and origin of the fish/seafood offered for sale. In
addition, federal law requires the label to contain the name and
address of the shipper, packer, or distributor of the fish product.

While law exists to prevent mislabeling of fish and seafood, media
reports and studies indicate that there is widespread non-compliance
with existing federal statutes in labeling fish products. Various
incidents have been reported at wholesale markets where wholesalers
remove the original label affixed on fish containers only to replace
them with a new label or handwritten note that provides inaccurate
counts and net weighs (short-weight) and misidentifies the name and
origin of fish.  These instances result in retailers receiving less
for their money, costing legitimate business sales, and reducing
confidence in the seafood product purchased by both retailers and
consumers.

This bill proposes to address the problem of weight deception, species
substitution and improper labeling by enacting an explicit requirement
that seafood must be accurately labeled at the wholesale level.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:


None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This bill takes effect immediately.

                                BILL NUMBER:S1147A

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the agriculture and markets law, in
relation to labeling requirements for fish wholesalers

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:  This legislation would amend the
agriculture and markets law to require that wholesalers of fish and/or
seafood may only sell such fish or seafood that is in sealed and
clearly labeled containers; and to require the labels to include 1)
the identity of the commodity, 2) the weight of the commodity, 3) the
name and address of the shipper, packer, or distributor, 4) the state
and county of commodity origin, and 5) date of harvest.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one would amend the agriculture and markets law by adding a
new section 214-o, which would require that any wholesaler of fish
and/or seafood may only sell edible or otherwise saleable fish or
seafood for consumption purposes in sealed and clearly labeled
containers. The labels must include the following: 1) the identity of
the commodity, 2) the weight of the commodity, 3) the name and address
of the shipper, packer, or distributor, 4) the state and county of
commodity origin, and 5) date of harvest.

Section two provides that this act shall take effect immediately.

              

JUSTIFICATION:  Under the existing federal law, wholesalers of
fish/seafood are required to attach labels that provide correct
information of the weight, identity and origin of the fish/seafood
offered for sale. In addition, federal law requires the label to
contain the name and address of the shipper, packer, or distributor of
the fish product.

While law exists to prevent mislabeling of fish and seafood, media
reports and studies indicate that there is widespread non-compliance
with existing federal statutes in labeling fish products. Various
incidents have been reported at wholesale markets where wholesalers
remove the original label affixed on fish containers only to replace
them with a new label or handwritten note that provides inaccurate
counts and net weighs (short-weight), and misidentifies the name and
origin of fish. These instances result in retailers receiving less for
their money, costing legitimate business sales, and reducing
confidence in the seafood product purchased by both retailers and
consumers.

This bill proposes to address the problem of weight deception, species
substitution and improper labeling by enacting an explicit requirement
that seafood must be accurately labeled at the wholesale level.

LEGISLATIVE_H1STORY: This is a new bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:  This bill takes effect immediately.

                                BILL NUMBER:S1147B

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the agriculture and markets law, in
relation to labeling requirements for fish and seafood wholesalers

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This legislation would amend the Agriculture and markets law to
require that wholesalers of fish and/or seafood may only sell such
fish or seafood that is in sealed and clearly labeled containers; and
to require that such labels include: 1) the identity and weight of the
commodity, 2) the name and address of the shipper, packer, or
distributor, 3) the state of commodity origin, and 4) date of harvest.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends Agriculture and Markets Law section 190(2) to
provide the proper cross reference to the new bill section 2 of this
act that creates Agriculture and Markets Law 214-o.

Section 2: Adds a new Ag. & Markets Law section 214-o, which would
require that any wholesaler of fish and/or seafood may only sell fish
or seafood for human consumption if it is sealed in clearly labeled
containers. The labels must include the following: 1) the identity and
weight of the commodity, 2) the name and address of the shipper,
packer, or distributor, 3) the state of commodity origin, and 4) date
              

of harvest.

In addition, this bill adds a provision so that these new state
provisions are to be deemed to comply with federal law and regulations
so that no new duplicative standards need to be implements. In
essence, this bill allows New York State to enforce the federal and
state labeling requirements so that it is clear the kinds of seafood
that is being sold and what is the weight of such fish or seafood.

Section 3: Effective 180 days after it shall have become law

JUSTIFICATION:

Under the existing federal law, wholesalers of fish/seafood are
required to attach labels that provide correct information of the
weight, identity and origin of the fish/seafood offered for sale. In
addition, federal law requires the label to contain the name and
address of the shipper, packer, or distributor of the fish product.

While law exists to prevent mislabeling of fish and seafood, media
reports and studies indicate that there is widespread non-compliance
with existing federal statutes in labeling fish products. Various
incidents have been reported at wholesale markets where wholesalers
remove the original label affixed on fish containers only to replace
them with a new label or handwritten note that provides inaccurate
counts and net weighs (short-weight), and misidentifies the name and
origin of fish. These instances result in retailers receiving less for
their money, costing legitimate business sales, and reducing
confidence in the seafood product purchased by both retailers and
consumers.


This bill proposes to address the problem of weight deception, species
substitution and improper labeling by enacting an explicit requirement
that seafood must be accurately labeled at the wholesale level. In
addition, this bill was amended to be deemed to comply with federal
law and regulations with regard to the wholesale labeling of fish and
seafood, so that no additional or duplicative standards for labeling
are needed.

The labeling standards that are being established by this bill for
fish and seafood are the same state standards that are currently used
for the wholesale labeling of other agricultural products such as
apples, pears, other fruits, vegetables, and other agricultural
produce.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This bill takes effect 180 days after it shall have  become law.