U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) has responded to a recent recall of melamine-tainted milk from China by urging her peers to pass country-of-origin labeling (COOL) legislation (S.B. 1783) for all dairy products sold in the United States. Introduced by Al Franken (D Minn.) as the Dairy COOL Act of 2009, the bill would extend current labeling requirements for nuts, fruits, vegetables, meats, and seafood to milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and butter. “We must do more to protect consumers and provide a competitive edge to New York dairy farmers,” Gillibrand said in a March 3, 2010, press release. “All consumers have the right to know whether the milk, yogurt and cheese that we buy are made in Upstate New York or China.” See Dairy Reporter.com, March 4, 2010. The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) in 2009 registered opposition to the proposal, which is still under consideration by the Senate Committee on…
Tag Archives COOL
The United Kingdom (UK) has introduced a new country-of-origin-labeling (COOL) code of practice for pork and pork products. Launched at a recent National Farmers Union conference, the voluntary code was drawn up by the Pig Meat Supply Chain Task Force representing processors, pig producers, retailers, and the food-service sector. “A year ago I said that I wanted to end the nonsense of unclear country-of-origin labeling on pig meat products,” Environment Secretary Hilary Benn was quoted as saying. “I expect all major retailers to sign up and join those who have already decided to end the confusion for shoppers. If they don’t, their customers should ask them why they’re not in favor of clear, honest labeling.” The code reportedly aims to ensure that processed products will clearly identify country of origin for pork ingredients. Companies adhering to the new code have committed to providing clearer information such as “Produced in the…
A federal court in Washington has reportedly denied a feedlot company’s request to invalidate or delay implementation of the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) regulations adopted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2008. Easterday Ranches, Inc. v. USDA, No. __ (E.D. Wash., decided February 5, 2010). According to news sources, the company argued that the COOL regulations, which do not allow beef imported from Canada or Mexico and slaughtered in the United States to be labeled as a U.S. product, conflicted with U.S. Treasury Department rules, would raise its recordkeeping and operational costs, and deter packers from paying fair prices for Canadian cattle. The Treasury rules apparently provide that beef is deemed a U.S. product if it undergoes “substantial transformation,” e.g., slaughter, within this country. The court refused to postpone USDA’s rules and further declined to order the agency to create an exception to COOL allowing cattle imported from Canada and…
The American Meat Institute (AMI) has apparently submitted comments to the Office of U.S. Trade Representative contending that country of-origin labeling (COOL) requirements violate U.S. international trade obligations. According to AMI, the nation’s “credibility is undermined when U.S. legislation violates America’s commitments” under international agreements. AMI claims that the COOL requirements “are not consistent with U.S. obligations” under World Trade Organization (WTO) and North American Free Trade Agreement obligations or the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The organization apparently characterizes COOL as “de facto discrimination against foreign products, a result even contemplated by sponsors of the legislation who declared that it would be ‘helpful to a lot of American agricultural producers’ and force companies to rely ‘on our independent producers here in this country.’” Canada and Mexico have asked the WTO to rule on the legality of the COOL law. See AMI Press Release, January 8, 2010; meatingplace.com, January 11,…
As anticipated, Canada reportedly renewed its request that the World Trade Organization (WTO) establish a panel to resolve a dispute over U.S. country-of-origin labeling (COOL) requirements. The request was accepted, and the panel is expected to issue its report sometime in the second half of 2010, according to a news source. The WTO can authorize those countries winning such disputes to adopt commercial sanctions against countries violating its rules. Canada and Mexico have both challenged COOL, which requires U.S. meat processors to handle and label imported products separately, claiming violations of international trade agreements. Canadian meat producers reportedly contend that the rules have caused many U.S. processors to simply exclude Canadian products, and U.S. Department of Agriculture figures purportedly show that U.S. imports of Canadian livestock were 34 percent lower in the first half of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008. Canada’s agriculture minister was quoted as saying, “We…
The United States has reportedly blocked Canadian and Mexican efforts to convene a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel that would determine whether the new U.S. country-of-origin (COOL) labeling requirements for meat products are fair. Under WTO procedures, a country can block the creation of a dispute settlement panel once. If, as expected, Canada and Mexico renew their calls for a panel at the WTO dispute settlement body’s November 19, 2009, meeting, the United States will be unable to block it again unless the body consents. U.S. officials reportedly told the WTO, “The U.S. urges Canada and Mexico to reconsider their decisions to request a panel in these disputes, and we are not in a position to agree to the establishment of a panel at this time.” See Meatingplace.com and Law 360, October 26, 2009.
Three U.S. Senators have introduced a bill (S. 1783) that would extend mandatory country-of-origin (COOL) labeling to dairy products. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s current COOL law took effect in 2008 and requires origin labeling on meats, nuts and raw produce, but not dairy products or processed foods. The Dairy COOL Act of 2009 extends the current law to include milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and butter, but retains the exemption for processed foods. “With the discovery last year of widespread use of melamine in Chinese dairy products, consumers deserve to know whether the milk used to produce the dairy products they buy meets the high safety standards used in the U.S.,” said Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.), who co-sponsored the legislation with colleagues Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Al Franken (D-Minn.). Franken said the bill helps address the issue of low milk prices by helping “American dairy farmers stand out in…
Shortly after Canada filed its challenge to U.S. country-of-origin labeling (COOL) requirements, Mexico apparently followed suit, asking the World Trade Organization (WTO) to establish a panel to undertake a dispute settlement process. Mexico’s agricultural authority reportedly contends that the rules may unfairly discriminate against the country’s meat industry by requiring U.S. meat processors to segregate imported meats. This has allegedly led some U.S. processors to stop buying meat from Mexico or Canada. The panel request is reportedly scheduled to be considered during an October 23, 2009, meeting of WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body. See Product Liability Law 360, October 12, 2009.
Canada’s government has reportedly asked the World Trade Organization (WTO) to establish a dispute settlement panel to hear its claims that U.S. country-of-origin labeling requirements for meat have unfairly reduced demand for Canadian products. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Trade Representative Ron Kirk responded to the request by stating, “We regret that formal consultations have not been successful in resolving Canada’s concerns over country of origin labeling (COOL) required by the 2008 Farm Bill for certain agricultural products. We believe that our implementation of COOL provides information to consumers in a manner consistent with our World Trade Organization commitments.” Apparently, Canada was able to gain some concessions on the matter from the Bush administration, but regulations adopted after President Barack Obama (D) took office did not provide the flexibility Canadian producers were evidently seeking. Canada’s minister of international trade was quoted as saying, “The U.S. COOL requirements are so…
Concerned that the United States does not plan to make any changes to its country-of-origin labeling (COOL) rules for meats, fresh produce and nuts, Canada has apparently decided to move forward with a complaint it originally filed in December 2008 with the World Trade Organization (WTO). According to Canada’s trade minister, “Recent instructions from the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture encouraging the U.S. industry to use very strict labeling practices have removed flexibility previously envisioned in the legislation and this affects the ability of our cattle and hog exporters to compete fairly in the U.S. market.” U.S. imports of Canadian cattle reportedly dropped 32 percent in the first two months of 2009 compared with the same period in 2008, and hog imports have fallen 40 percent. The reductions are apparently blamed, in part, on COOL requirements that U.S. plants segregate and separately label imported products. Canadian producers also claim that the…
