H.R. 5818
Country of Origin Labeling Enforcement Act of 2025
Official summary
Written by the Congressional Research Service.
Country of Origin Labeling Enforcement Act of 2025
This bill requires retailers to notify their customers of the country of origin of beef.
In general, under the Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements, retailers (such as grocery stores, supermarkets, and club warehouses) must provide certain information to consumers regarding the origin of specific foods (e.g., lamb, chicken, fish, and perishable agriculture products). This bill expands these requirements to include mandatory COOL for beef (including ground beef).
In order to designate beef as exclusively having a country of origin of the United States, the product must generally be derived from an animal that was exclusively born, raised, and slaughtered in the United States.
A retailer (or a supplier for the retailer) who willfully violates the COOL requirements for beef may be subject to a USDA fine of $5,000 for each pound of beef that is not in compliance. Under current law, the USDA fine may not exceed $1,000 for each COOL violation.
The bill specifies that no ruling by the World Trade Organization (or by any other international organization of which the United States is a member) may be construed to limit, alter, or affect USDA's authority to implement COOL under this bill.
Text of the bill
This Act may be cited as the Country of Origin Labeling Enforcement Act of 2025.
(a) Definitions. Section 281 of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1638) is amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (7) as paragraphs (2) through (8), respectively;
(2) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so redesignated) the following:
(1) Beef. The term beef means meat produced from cattle (including veal).
(3) in paragraph (2)(A)(i) (as so redesignated), by striking lamb and venison and inserting beef, lamb, and venison; and
(4) in paragraph (2)(A)(ii) (as so redesignated), by striking ground lamb and ground venison and inserting ground beef, ground lamb, and ground venison.
(b) Notice of country of origin. Section 282(a)(2) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1638a(a)(2)) is amended—
(1) in the paragraph heading, by inserting beef, after for;
(2) in each of subparagraphs (A) through (D), by inserting beef, before lamb each place it appears; and
(3) in subparagraph (E)—
(A) in the subparagraph heading, by inserting beef, after Ground; and
(B) by inserting ground beef, before ground lamb each place it appears.
(c) Enforcement. Section 283(b) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1638b(b)) is amended by striking $1,000 for each violation and inserting $1,000 for each violation (or in the case of a covered commodity that is beef, $5,000 for each pound of beef not in compliance with the requirements of section 282).
(d) Rule of construction. No ruling by the World Trade Organization or by any other international organization of which the United States is a member that is established before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act may be construed to limit, alter, or affect the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to require country of origin labeling in accordance with the amendments made by this section.