USA: USDA AMS clarifies varietal labeling requirements of the federal seed act to enhance transparency for growers

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today reiterates its standing policy related to varietal labeling requirements for agricultural and vegetable seed shipped in interstate commerce. AMS’s policy is based on requirements of the Federal Seed Act (FSA) (7 U.S.C. 1551-1611), a truth-in-labeling law that regulates the labeling of seed in interstate and foreign commerce. The FSA does not regulate seed that is grown, conditioned, and traded within individual States. This policy statement makes clear that AMS views false advertising and mislabeling of seed varietal names as serious violations of the FSA. Periodically, AMS receives questions from seed businesses and customers related to varietal labeling requirements. The most common question is whether varietal names are required on vegetable and agricultural seeds. For vegetable seeds shipped in interstate commerce, the seed must be labeled with a kind and variety name. There is no exception ...