Kitchen

[DiAnne]

On 10/30/2014 RespectLife said:

Really good question, DiAnne. I went to an expert....my sister! LOL She works for a Custom Brokerage (they handle ALL the paperwork on everything coming into the US via land/sea/air and through any border) She is head of the companies FDA Compliance Unit. She said:

"Country of origin is required to be on the cartons that the products are shipped in for Customs purposes…but for FDA purposes, the labeling does not have to include the originating country of origin… only who distributes it.

From the FDA’s website…this is all that has to be on the label.

What name and address must be listed on the label?

Answer: Food labels must list:

1. Name and address of the manufacturer, packer or distributor. Unless the name given is the actual manufacturer, it must be accompanied by a qualifying phrase which states the firm's relation to the product (e.g., "manufactured for "or "distributed by");
2. Street address if the firm name and address are not listed in a current city directory or telephone book;
3. City or town;
4. State (or country, if outside the United States); and
5. ZIP code (or mailing code used in countries other than the United States).
   
   

So basically…eat at your own risk! " **(Her warning, not mine!)**

That's what she said! Jeepers...not very comforting, is it! She always warns me about reading the labels and not purchasing cheap stuff (such as dollar store items, cheap spices etc) that you can't distinguish the origin.

Kinda scares me about Trader Joe's now...I really don't care who distributes it! I care who grew it/packed it etc!

RespectLife - Thanks for the info. You are right about Trader Joe's - I looked at another couple of items in the cupboard from Trader Joe's - the low sodium soy sauce said Product of Japan, the cornichons said Product of France. Now I really wonder where that popcorn was made and why it was not on the label. Maybe it was made in USA??

[forrestwolf]

Understand........a lot of canned goods are labeled grown or produced in the USA or product of the USA, but then the items are then sent to China, or wherever, and then processed and shipped back to the USA, in China made cans and packages.......

[ValuSkr]

DiAnne, here's a good article from Food Safety News. Maybe more than you wanted to know, but I thought it was interesting. One thing I've learned is that "country of origin" for food - especially processed food - isn't always straightforward.

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/04/a-question-of-origin/#.VFOWMfnF9rM