ACTION ALERT: Help Close Loopholes in
Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL)
USDA Comment Deadline Sept. 30
9/17/08
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking public comments on its final interim rule (http://whatcounts.com/t?r=1006&c=1440749&l=61388&ctl=1E39FEB:52A6318E6AEC3EEC509F61321744BC6ED5E17C27737CCF4B&) on mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL).
In general, the interim rules are fine. However, there are two major loopholes.
- The rules exempt covered commodities found in “processed” food items.
- The rules would let meatpackers bypass specific Country-of-Origin Label requirements for muscle cuts.
We are asking you to send comments urging the USDA to fix these two loopholes. There’s more information about these loopholes in the BACKGROUND section below.
TAKE ACTION
Send your comments and tell USDA to close the meat labeling loopholes. The comment deadline is Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008.
What you can say in your comments:
- Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling was passed as a set of comprehensive standards that ensure all food is labeled consistently, in a way that is easy for the consumer to identify and access. Implement the law as intended.
- Livestock producers want COOL. It differentiates U.S. products for both U.S. and foreign consumers from the products of other countries.
- Consumers have the right to know the origin of their food. Muscle cuts of meat should include the country where the animal was born, raised and slaughtered and should not be labeled “multiple origin.”
- Definitions of “processed foods” should be practical and useful to consumers. By exempting foods that are simply salted, cured or marinated through common practice for retail, USDA is exempting a significant number of foods that consumers would expect to be labeled through this program.
- In verifying U.S.A. Country-of-Origin, USDA should not require a person to keep records other than those maintained in the normal course of business. Rules should allow a person subject to an audit to verify the origin of a product using records, including animal health papers, import or customs document of producer affidavits.
HOW TO COMMENT
You can send in your comment in several ways:
Address your comments to:
Country of Origin Labeling Program, Room 2607-S
Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA Stop 024
1400 Independence Ave. SW
Washington, DC 20250-0254
BACKGROUND
USDA is writing rules for mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling of beef, lamb, pork, chicken, goat meat, fish, fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, and peanuts. The label would be found on foods sold in grocery stores, and would state the food’s country of origin.
Labeling benefits both consumers, who will be able to make an informed choice and buy food produced closer to home, and producers, who need a way to identify their crops and livestock as products of the United States.
On Aug. 1, 2008, USDA issued a final interim rule (http://whatcounts.com/t?r=1006&c=1440749&l=61388&ctl=1E39FEB:52A6318E6AEC3EEC509F61321744BC6ED5E17C27737CCF4B&) for labeling and opened a public comment period until Sept. 30, 2008. After comments are in, USDA will consider these rules to use over the next six months to transition into the program and then fully implement it.
The interim rules contain major loopholes. They specifically exempt covered commodities found in “processed” food items. The processing loophole exempts foods that have been cooked or marinated or cured, or simply when they have been combined with other covered commodities.
Excluded, for example, are roasted peanuts, marinated pork loins, salad mixes, fresh fruit cups, dried fruits and vegetables, smoked or cured ham and bacon.
This exemption excludes a significant portion of the foods consumers bring home from their grocery stores on a daily basis, and it compromises a consumer’s right to know the origin of the foods they are buying and consuming.
Use of a “multiple origin” label on muscle cuts would allow packers to bypass specific Country-of-Origin Labeling for muscle cuts that are known and should be labeled as from a specific country. Muscle cuts are not mixed product or mixed meat. Therefore, either the origin is known or it is unknown.
Under the intent of the COOL law, there is no option for an unknown country-of-origin in muscle cuts. The packers know where their meat was born, raised and slaughtered.
By allowing a multiple country label for muscle cuts, there is no incentive for packers to label the specific source country. It opens the door for a label that includes meat slaughtered that day from all the countries involved. That dismisses any responsibility for the packer to tell consumers the information they want and deserve to know.
For more information on COOL, contact the Land Stewardship Project’s Adam Warthesen at 612-722-6377 or adamw@landstewardshipproject.org.
