Are retail items such as salad mixes and fruit cups/fruit salads required to be labeled with country of origin information?
A. Under the final rule, a covered commodity that has been combined with at least one other covered commodity is considered a processed food item and is therefore exempt from country of origin labeling requirements. We have received numerous inquiries in the last few weeks, primarily from members of the produce industry, requesting clarification on exactly what is meant by “other covered commodity”. Examples of the types of produce mixes include: 1. Fruit salads with different melons (watermelon, honeydew and/or cantaloupe) 2. Packages of different colored sweet peppers (green, yellow and/or red) 3. Salads mixes (iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce) In determining whether these types of products or other similar products that contain combined covered commodities are covered by COOL, the Agency will rely on U.S. Grade Standards for fruits and vegetables to make the distinction of whether or not the retail item is a combination of “other covered commodities”. Applying this policy to the fir
