BILL NUMBER:  S1422

 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 may only sell such fish that is in
sealed and clearly labeled containers; and to require that such labels
include: 1) the identity and weight and standard measure or numerical
count of the commodity, 2) the name and address of the shipper,
packer, or distributor, 3) the state of commodity origin.

 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 may only sell fish for human
consumption if it is sealed in clearly labeled containers. The labels
must include the following: 1) the identity and weight and standard
              

measure or numerical count of the commodity, 2) the name and address
of the shipper, packer, or distributor, 3) the state of commodity
origin.

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 fish that
is being sold and what is the weight of such fish.

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

 JUSTIFICATION :

Under the existing federal law, wholesalers of fish are required to
attach labels that provide correct information of the weight, identity
and origin of the fish 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, 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
weight (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 fish
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 fish 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, so
that no additional or duplicative standards for labeling are needed.


The labeling standards that are being established by this bill for
fish 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 :

2016: S.1147-C/A.7461-B (Kim)-Passed Senate
2015: S.1147-B/A.7461 (Kim)
2014: S.7730

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This bill takes effect 180 days after it shall have become law;
provided, however that effective immediately, the addition, amendment
and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the
implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized and
directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.