,i  #aaeth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #dgdi  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,january #i1         
#bjah,mr4 ,soto introduced the following
 bill2 which was referred to the        
,committee on ,agriculture  ,a ,,bill   
,to amend the ,agricultural ,trade ,act 
of #aigh to establish a program to      
enhance transparency and traceability of
 food products and ingredients that are 
exported to the ,united ,states in order
 to protect ,american consumers and     
,american food manufacturers against    
mislabeling1 adulteration1 and fraud4   
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,truth in ,certification for    
,foreign ,food ,ingredients ,act4  #b4  
,program of foreign capacity building to
 strengthen transparency1 traceability  
and fraud prevention of food products   
and ingredients exported to the ,united 
,states  7a7 ,findings ,congress makes  
the following findings3  7#a7           
,approximately #ae percent of the       
,united ,states food supply consists of 

imported products4  7#b7 ,food products 
and ingredients with special            
characteristics command a premium price 
in the ,united ,states market4  7#c7    
,american food manufacturers rely on    
getting ingredients that consistently   
meet the specifications they need4  7#d7
 ,many foreign governments lack the     
capacity or expertise to trace back food
 ingredients or protect against         
fraudulent changes in paperwork to      
ensure that ingredients exported to the 
,united ,states were actually produced  
in accordance with the standards        
claimed4  7#e7 ,such frauds cheat       
consumers who are willing to pay        
premiums for food and feed with special 
characteristics1 cheat producers and    
processors who use ingredients with     
special characteristics1 and unfairly   
put ,american producers at a competitive
 disadvantage in marketing specialized  
products4  7#f7 ,fraudulent food imports
 also put consumers who have food       
allergies at risk when food labels are  

mislabeled and do not accurately reflect
 the ingredients contained in the food  
product4  7b7 ,capacity building program
 ,section #ejc of the ,agricultural     
,trade ,act of #aigh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4      
#efic7 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking    
,the ,service and inserting 7a7 ,in     
,general4--,the ,foreign ,agricultural  
,service2 and  7#b7 by adding at the end
 the following new subsection3  7b7     
,transparency1 traceability and fraud   
prevention program for food products and
 ingredients exported to the ,united    
,states  7#a7 ,program required ,the    
,administrator of the ,foreign          
,agricultural ,service shall carry out a
 program to enhance transparency and    
traceability of food products and       
ingredients that are exported to the    
,united ,states in order to protect     
,american consumers and ,american food  
manufacturers against mislabeling1      
adulteration1 and fraud4  7#b7 ,program 
elements ,as part of the program1 the   
,foreign ,agricultural ,service shall   

provide foreign government officials1   
foreign agricultural producers1 and     
foreign exporters of food products and  
ingredients to the ,united ,states with 
technical assistance and best practices 
to improve--  7,a7 transparency1        
traceability and fraud prevention1      
including best practices for direct     
government inspection and certification 
of food products and ingredients in     
international trade2 and  7,b7          
cooperation with private certification  
and verification bodies to ensure the   
accuracy and integrity of their food    
product and ingredient certification and
 verification4  7#c7 ,priorities ,the   
,administrator of the ,foreign          
,agricultural ,service shall prioritize 
the provision of technical assistance to
 those foreign countries determined to  
be at the greatest risk of exporting    
mislabeled1 misbranded1 or adulterated  
food products or ingredients or food    
products or ingredients that do not meet
 the special characteristics that are   

claimed for the products or ingredients 
in order to command premium prices4     
7#d7 ,cooperation and coordination ,the 
,administrator of the ,foreign          
,agricultural ,service shall carry out  
the program in cooperation with the     
,administrator of the ,agricultural     
,marketing ,service and in coordination 
with the ,administrator of the ,united  
,states ,agency for ,international      
,development4  4