Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl, and Congressman Dave Obey today introduced legislation to help protect farmers and consumers of ginseng by requiring that ginseng be labeled to identify where it was harvested. Based on their previous legislation, the new Ginseng Harvest Labeling Act of 2007 would require raw ginseng root that is imported or sold at wholesale or retail to clearly indicate the country in which the ginseng was harvested. The bill will allow consumers to make informed decisions and have confidence in the ginseng they purchase by making it easier to identify ginseng actually harvested in Wisconsin since 95 percent of the US cultivated ginseng is grown in the state. Wisconsin ginseng is widely heralded as the premier ginseng in the world.

"We must protect the superior quality of ginseng Wisconsin farmers produce from counterfeit labels and ginseng smugglers," Feingold said. "Consumers looking for a high quality ginseng product -- such as Wisconsin-grown ginseng – should be able to have confidence that they are getting the real thing and not a knock-off."

"Intentionally mislabeling any food product is a serious offense, for the sake of consumers’ health and for the producers who have a stake in protecting their quality product. This bill will help Wisconsin’s ginseng growers defend their market share and ensure that consumers will know exactly what they’re buying," Kohl said.

"Wisconsin Ginseng is the best in the world and remains an important part of the economy of Marathon County and central Wisconsin. We need to do what we can to keep the industry healthy and this legislation will help. We've been battling counterfeiters for a number of years and while enactment of new, more stringent labeling requirements won't eliminate the problem, it will make it more difficult for the smugglers and counterfeiters and provide us with another weapon to fight them," Obey said. "I congratulate Senator Feingold for his dogged efforts on behalf of Wisconsin's ginseng growers and I am pleased to join with him and Senator Kohl in introducing this legislation."

Feingold, Kohl and Obey introduced the bill because smugglers from Canada and Asia have labeled their ginseng product as "Wisconsin-grown," misleading consumers and undercutting domestic ginseng growers. Wisconsin ginseng commands a premium price in world markets because of its high quality and low chemical residue. Counterfeit labels and ginseng smuggling have become widespread throughout the world because of the superior quality of Wisconsin ginseng to that of ginseng grown abroad. Besides the long-standing support of the farmers on the Ginseng Board of Wisconsin, the current legislation has the support of the American Herbal Products Association and the United Natural Products Alliance.