The U.S. Department of Agriculture today issued an interim final rule for the mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) program that will become effective on Sept. 30. It will be formally published in the Federal Register on August 1 - but the pdf document can be viewed online at the Federal Register at the following page: http://federalregister.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2008-17562_PI.pdf
Summary
The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (2002 Farm Bill), the 2002 Supplemental Appropriations Act (2002 Appropriations), and the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) amended the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (Act) to require retailers to notify their customers of the country of origin of covered commodities. Covered commodities include muscle cuts of beef (including veal), lamb, chicken, goat, and pork; ground beef, ground lamb, ground chicken, ground goat, and ground pork; wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish; perishable agricultural commodities; macadamia nuts; pecans; ginseng; and peanuts. The implementation of mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) for all covered commodities, except wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish, was delayed until September 30, 2008.
The 2008 Farm Bill contains a number of provisions that amended the COOL provisions in the Act. These changes include the addition of chicken, goat, macadamia nuts, pecans, and ginseng as covered commodities, the addition of provisions for labeling products of multiple origin, as well as a number of other changes that are discussed more fully in the Supplementary Information portion of this rule. However, the implementation date of September 30, 2008, was not changed by the 2008 Farm Bill. Therefore, in order to meet the September 30, 2008, implementation date and to provide the newly affected industries the opportunity to provide comments prior to issuing a final rule, the Department is issuing this interim final rule. This interim final rule contains definitions, the requirements for consumer notification and product marking, and the recordkeeping responsibilities of both retailers and suppliers for covered commodities. The provisions in this interim final rule do not affect the regulatory requirements for fish and shellfish that were published in the October 5, 2004, Federal Register .
COOL Q & A:What Are The General Requirements?
The 2002 and 2008 Farm Bills amended the Act to require retailers to notify their customers of the country of origin of beef (including veal), lamb, pork, chicken, goat, wild and farm raised fish and shellfish, perishable agricultural commodities, peanuts, pecans, ginseng, and macadamia nuts.
The implementation of mandatory COOL for all covered commodities except wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish was delayed until September 30, 2008. The law defines the terms “retailer” and “perishable agricultural commodity” as having the meanings given those terms in section 1(b) of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act of 1930 (PACA)(7 U.S.C. 499 et seq.). Under PACA, a retailer is any person engaged in the business of selling any perishable agricultural commodity at retail.
Retailers are required to be licensed when the invoice cost of all purchases of perishable agricultural commodities exceeds $230,000 during a calendar year. The term perishable agricultural commodity means fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables.
Food service establishments are specifically exempted as are covered commodities that are ingredients in a processed food item. In addition, the law specifically outlines the criteria a covered commodity must meet to bear a “United States country of origin” designation.