Following up on your October 1, 2002, memorandum addressed to “All Retail Food Establishments,” the purpose of this letter is to offer comments from the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and the Retail Association of Mississippi (RAM) on the regulation proposed by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce to implement Senate Bill 2367, also known as the Country of Origin Meat Labeling Law (hereinafter “S.B. 2367”). As discussed more fully below, FMI objects to the proposed regulation on the grounds that, among other things, it is an unconstitutional exercise of power in violation of several provisions of the United States Constitution, including the Commerce Clause of Article I, Section 8; the Supremacy Clause of Article VI, Section 2; the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment; and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

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