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3catkidneyfailure
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« on: May 06, 2008, 06:01:27 AM » |
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Here's an update on COOL legislation from an article on the 2008 Farm Bill. This is what country of origin labeling is going to be covering. I believe it is somewhat different than some consumer expectations. Registration and access to the website, mondaq, is free for those interested in seeing the complete 2008 farm bill, as well as other legal summaries of recent legal decisions affecting consumer law: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=57554Country of Origin Labeling (COOL)
Before House passage of its version of the Farm Bill, stakeholders reached a compromise on COOL. The compromise held during consideration of the Senate version of the bill, with only one modification: the Senate added chicken and macadamia nuts to the list of covered commodities. Implementation of the original COOL provision for meat, which was contained in the 2002 Farm Bill, has been delayed by a provision in an appropriations bill, but it is now due to go into effect by September 30, 2008.
Under the compromise that would replace the original COOL, a retailer of beef, lamb, pork, and goat may designate the product as having a United States (U.S.) country of origin if the commodity is derived from an animal that was exclusively born, raised, and slaughtered in the United States, or was born and raised in Alaska or Hawaii and transported for a period of not more than 60 days through Canada to the United States and then slaughtered in the United States. For multiple countries of origin, a retailer may designate the country of origin of the commodity as all of the countries in which the animal may have been born, raised, or slaughtered. If the commodity is from a foreign country, a retailer would be required to designate a country other than the United States as the country of origin.
No changes were made to the labeling requirements for fish, which went into effect in 2005 and remain in effect today. In the case of farm-raised fish, it must be hatched, raised, harvested, and processed in the United States to be labeled as U.S. product. For wild fish, it must be harvested in the United States, a territory of the United States, in a state, or by a vessel that is registered in the United States or is documented under chapter 121 of title 46 of the U.S. Code, and must be processed in the United States, a territory, or a state, including the waters of a state.
The penalty and audit provisions were modified in both the House and Senate versions in a manner that would shift some of the burdens of recordkeeping and potential liability from retailers to suppliers. Also, the maximum penalty for violations would be reduced from $10,000 to $1,000 per violation. ...
The House Farm Bill implements mandatory COOL for beef, lamb, pork, and goat, and establishes three labeling options for these commodities:
U.S. Country of Origin: The animal must be born, raised, and slaughtered in the United States
A Mixed Origin meat label is required for animals that were not exclusively born, raised, and slaughtered in the United States
The Imported Meat label is required for animals from foreign countries
Ground meat products are required to be labeled with a narrative list of countries from which the products could be derived, but does not require the label to specify the percentage of product from the respective countries. Verification of country of origin may be established through existing documentation, e.g., normal business records, animal health papers, import or customs documents, or producer affidavits.
The Senate language is similar to the House but adds chicken and macadamia nuts as covered commodities With all the things left out here, I have to ask why macadamia nuts? |
