COOL implementation heats up

COOL implementation heats up The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it would use the next six months to help food retailers throughout the country get in compliance with new federal country of origin labeling requirements.
   The interim rules, which took effect Sept. 30, are part of the 2002 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act, and 2008 Food, Conservation and Energy Act, and apply to retailers of fresh and frozen produce and meats with a sales invoice value of at least $230,000.
   'That means a fish market is exempt, a butcher shop is exempt — and it's really your larger grocery stores across the nation that are covered and who must label for these products,' said Lloyd Day, administrator of USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, during a Sept. 30 press conference in Washington.
   Commodities covered by COOL are:
   ' Beef, lamb, chicken, goat and pork, including both muscle cuts and ground form.
   ' Wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish.
   ' Perishable agricultural commodities.
   ' Macadamia nuts.
   ' Pecans.
   ' Ginseng.
   ' Peanuts.
   Processed foods, such as mixed salads and teriyaki chicken, and restaurants are exempt from the rule.
   Day said all origin labels must be legible. 'They must be in a conspicuous location, although that could be on the reverse side of a package as well,' he said.
   'Some acceptable declarations for country of origin are: 'Product of the USA,' 'Produce of the USA,' 'Grown in Mexico,' 'California,' (and) 'Washington Apples,' ' Day added. 'State and regional designations are O.K. for everything except meats, fish and shellfish, and this was included in the 2008 Farm Bill.'
   Retailers must also maintain country of origin records for their products, which are made accessible to government inspectors upon request.
   'Information can be provided on the product, master shipping container, or in a document that accompanies the product through retail sale,' Day said. 'In general, records that identify the covered commodity, retail supplier, and origin information must be maintained for one year from the date the declaration is made at retail.'
   The USDA has partnered with state-level agriculture departments to help with COOL retail surveillance responsibilities. When violations are discovered, agricultural officials alert the retailer, who then has 30 days to correct the violation.
   'But once that's happened, if we do find retail establishments or suppliers that are willfully violating the law, the penalty is $1,000 per violation,' Day warned. 'And again, they have 30 days to come into compliance, so we don't expect to have many people to be willful violators.'
   The USDA estimates that it will need about $9.6 million to carry out enforcement for this activity.
   'As we have continued to move forward on the implementation of country of origin labeling, we are making every attempt to make each and every decision as common sense and as transparent as we possibly can,' said Bruce Knight, USDA's agriculture undersecretary. 'And so we have tried to find that right balance, provide the information that the consumers are desiring, limit the regulatory burden, but meet the intent and letter of the law.'
   The USDA has received about 200 comments so far in response to the interim rule, which it plans to review during the upcoming weeks. For more details about COOL, access www.ams.usda.gov/cool.