August 15, 2024 - STOCKTON – Representative Josh Harder (CA-9) introduced a bill to require clear labeling of canned goods so families know which country their food came from. Right now, many families have no idea they are buying cheap, imported canned foods. Imports of canned fruits and vegetables from China increased 43% between 2019 and 2022. Rep. Harder introduced the American Consumer Awareness of National Source (CANS) Actalongside Rep. Derrick Van Orden (WI-3-R) so families can make informed decisions at the grocery store and choose to buy USA-grown foods if they want to.

Peaches and other canned foods are shipped thousands of miles across the world to be sold in grocery stores and served in school lunches, and it’s having a serious impact on hard-working California growers. Parents are buying these foods and they likely don’t know that there are USA-grown options right there on the same shelf.

“The Central Valley is the fruit and nut basket of the world, but our grocery store shelves are filled with peaches, tomatoes, and other canned goods grown 7,000 miles away,” said Rep. Harder. “I want my daughters to eat local, healthy produce but right now you need a microscope to figure out where it was grown. That makes no sense. This bill will ensure we know exactly what we’re eating and where it’s from.”

“America’s farmers work incredibly hard to produce high-quality food for the nation and deserve their efforts to be recognized. American consumers should also know if what they buy is domestically or internationally produced,” said Rep. Van Orden. “I am proud to introduce the American CANS Act with Rep. Harder to require a country-of-origin label on cans, which supports our domestic farmers and ensures transparency for consumers.”

A one-pager explaining the bill is available HERE and full bill text is available HERE.

“Pacific Coast Producers is pleased and grateful to support the American Consumer Awareness of National Source (CANS) Act. As a cooperative association of over 150 family farmers, we appreciate Representative Harder's understanding of the importance of USA grown food. The CANS Act will help to educate consumers and school administrators on the origin of products that they are purchasing for our families and our schools by making the importing country clearly visible to our consumers,” saidAndrew K. Russick, Vice President, Sales & Marketing at Pacific Coast Producers. “We strongly believe that consumers would prefer USA sourced products, which are grown and packaged with many protections - environmental safeguards for our land, water and air, food safety laws, worker health and safety laws and strong and fair labor laws. We thank Representative Harder for taking the time to visit our growers, learn about our food products, and for recognizing that unfairly subsidized foreign products are not preferable to our USA grown food.”

“On behalf of the U.S. metal food can manufacturers, we applaud Rep. Josh Harder and Rep. Derrick Van Orden for introducing the American Consumer Awareness of National Source (American CANS) Act, which will provide clear and consistent labeling on the country in which each canned food product was picked and packed,” said Robert Budway, President of Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI). “Ensuring that imported canned foods are properly labeled will empower American consumers to easily distinguish between products made in America and those packaged in other countries. Preliminary survey data shows that country of origin is an important factor considered by U.S. purchasers of packaged foods. This bill thus will enable American consumers to make informed decisions about where their food comes from. Consumer choices based on full information about country of origin will in turn help support American farmers and food producers, which are critical to the U.S. economy.”
Source: Congressman Josh Harder