Ag Opportunities

Volume 19, Number 9
September 2008

USDA releases interim final rule for Country of Origin Labeling (COOL)
By Zac Erwin
Livestock Specialist
Lewis County Extension Center

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently issued an interim final rule for the mandatory country-of-origin-labeling program that will become effective September 30, 2008. The implementation of COOL represents a six-year battle between various industry groups from producers to retailers. If you are not interested in reading the 233 page rule, there are several “cliff notes” versions of the law. I extracted the following information from a summary published by the American Meat Institute. I outlined a few of the major highlights and their effect on different segments of the meat industry.

COOL Applies to Certain Retail Meat Products

COOL is a retail labeling law that requires retailers to provide country of origin information regarding “covered commodities,” which include certain meat products. Because COOL is limited to retail sales, products sold at food service establishments are exempt. For meat, a “covered commodity” includes “muscle cuts” of beef, lamb, chicken, goat, and pork, as well as ground beef, ground lamb, ground chicken, ground goat, and ground pork. However the law exempts from COOL a product that otherwise would be subject to labeling if that product “is an ingredient in a processed food item.” Thus, the rule treats all cooked items (e.g., cooked sausages, cooked roast beef) as processed food items and outside the scope of a covered commodity. The rule also exempts as processed an item if it has been cured, smoked, or restructured. Thus, other examples of meat products not covered are flavored pork tenderloin, smoked ham, corned beef, etc.

Four-Tiered Labeling Process

The law provides for four categories of origin for meat: Product of the United States, Multiple Countries-of-Origin, Imported for Immediate Slaughter, and Covered Commodity that is Foreign Country-of-Origin. Product of the United States is defined as a meat product “exclusively from an animal that is exclusively born, raised, and slaughtered in the United States.” Multiple Countries-of-Origin captures covered commodities from animals with an affiliation with more than one country, but are not from animals that are imported for immediate slaughter. For example, cattle that are born in Mexico, spend part of their lives there as well as in the United States, and then are slaughtered in the U.S. The label in this scenario could read “Product of the U.S and/or Mexico”. Imported for Immediate Slaughter refers to animals imported to the U.S. for immediate slaughter and will be labeled as Product of Country X and the United States. For example, the covered commodity from a market hog delivered directly to a slaughter plant in the U.S would be labeled “Product of Canada and the U.S.” Immediate slaughter is defined as being slaughtered within two weeks from the date of entry. The last category, Covered Commodity that is Foreign Country-of-Origin, captures covered commodities from an animal for which no production steps (born, raised, or slaughtered) occur in the United States.

COOL Imposes Recordkeeping Requirements

The law imposes recordkeeping requirements on packers and processors and anyone else who supplies a covered commodity to a retailer. The packer requirement will trickle through the production chain and the recordkeeping system ultimately will begin at the producer level. The law also specifies that “records maintained in the normal conduct of business” can serve as verification of the country-of-origin of a covered commodity. Those records may include animal health papers, import or customs documents, as well as producer affidavits. The law is very clear that a National animal ID system is not to be tied to COOL or made a mandatory requirement of COOL. However, there are indications the USDA may provide a “safe harbor” for producers who are participating in the national animal ID program. This could alleviate some of the paperwork and traceability burden for producers. Also there is a grandfather date for all cattle within the United States before July 15, 2008. Any animal on U.S. soil prior to this date will be considered a part of the national herd and labeled “Product of the U.S.”, regardless of heritage. The supplier of an animal that enters the U.S. after that date has an obligation to ascertain the origin of the animal that yielded the covered commodity.

Since COOL will be mandatory as of September 30, it is best to start keeping records now. If you are buying or selling cattle, moving your calves off the farm and onto the feedlot, keep a record of where and when you bought or sold cattle. A simple sheet of paper with the numbers and lots will be helpful come fall

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