USDA Sets COOL Implementation Date; Encourages Voluntary Measures
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) will take effect as scheduled on March 16, 2009. Pursuant to an Obama administration memorandum, USDA reviewed the final rule that requires country-of-origin labeling for muscle cuts and ground beef, veal, pork, lamb, goat, and chicken; wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish; fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables; and peanuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, and ginseng sold by some retailers. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also issued an open letter to industry that urged companies to adopt several voluntary measures, such as multiple countries-of-origin designations and additional information about each production step. Further noting that the final rule’s definition of processed foods “may be too broadly drafted,” Vilsack stated that COOL might also be applicable to products subject to “curing, smoking, broiling, grilling, or steaming.”
Meanwhile, the American Meat Institute (AMI) has reportedly welcomed COOL implementation after taking an active role in the “six year rulemaking process.” The organization has estimated that 95 percent of beef and pork products will bear a “Product of the USA” label under the COOL program. “To the extent that companies are able and elect to go beyond these federal labeling requirements . . . is an individual company decision, which will have to be made in collaboration with a company’s retail grocery customers, which ultimately are the entities that provide country-of-origin information to the consumers,” an AMI spokesperson was quoted as saying. See USDA Press Release, February 20, 2009; Progressive Grocer, February 23, 2009.
