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Summer to close on a COOL note

Natural Food Merchandiser - Jessica Centers | To prepare those in the food industry for Sept. 30 — the date its mandatory country of origin labeling program will go into effect — the U.S. Department of Agriculture last week published an interim final rule detailing COOL's requirements.

The rule, published in the Federal Register on Aug. 1, applies to ground and muscle cuts of beef, lamb, chicken, goat and pork; perishable agricultural commodities; and macadamia nuts, pecans, ginseng and peanuts. It applies only to retailers and not restaurants. For at least the first six months of the rule's implementation, the agency will waive enforcement to engage in education and outreach.

At the urging of industry groups like the Food Marketing Institute, American Meat Institute and United Fresh Produce Association, the implementation of COOL, which was first passed in the 2002 Farm Bill, was delayed twice for all commodities except fish. The COOL program for fish and shellfish was implemented in October 2004.

In the 2008 Farm Bill, industry groups successfully pushed for changes in the original statute that they say will help ease the regulatory burden, like expanding the definition of processed foods, which are exempt; fining retailers for a mistake only when the violation is proved to be willful; and allowing produce to continue with current record-keeping and state and regional labeling, like "Washington apples" and "Idaho potatoes."

"I think in the long run, while some people were very concerned about the two delays Congress implemented, we supported those mainly because we needed to get the changes in place that would help make this work effectively for producers, retailers and consumers," said Robert Guenther, senior vice president of public policy for the United Fresh Produce Association. "We've estimated minimal [implementation] cost for produce because there's already robust labeling being done."

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