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Country-of-Origin Labeling 
Country of Origin Labeling
General Information
TSCRA and cattle industry partnershave labored on Capitol Hill for almost a decade to keep the Country-of-Origin
Labeling (COOL) law from becoming a paperwork nightmare for cow-calf producers.
Efforts to develop a compromise
version of COOL during the 2008 Farm Bill debates resulted in the more moderate
interim final rule on COOL published Aug. 1 in the Federal Register. The
interim rule incorporates provisions that make mandatory labeling more feasible
for producers.
The focus now is on how best to
implement COOL to provide maximum benefit and minimal disruption to ranchers.
Industry leaders will continue to work on behalf of cattlemen to put in place
an effective and accurate labeling system. Additionally, there will be a
special effort to educate producers on how to comply with the new rules.
TSCRA provides this information to
producers to help sort out the COOL issue and dispel misunderstandings of what
to expect in the coming months:
Status
The interim final rule on COOL becomes effective Sept. 30. A comment period
until that date is meant to allow analysis of the rule and suggestions for
final changes before the final rule is put in place.
We doubt any major changes can be
made, but small tweaks may be an option. During the six-month period following
the Sept. 30 implementation date, USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)
will conduct an industry education and outreach program concerning the
provisions and requirements of this rule.
Although there is not a six-month
grace period for implementation, AMS will be focusing more on education than on
enforcement.
To whom does COOL
apply?
COOL laws apply to retailers and packers who sell and/or
supply the covered commodities to consumers. The covered commodities include
muscle cuts of beef (including veal) and ground beef. Live cattle are not
commodities and the rule does not specifically apply to cattle producers;
however, since we supply the live animals that become the covered commodity, we
expect these requirements will trickle down from the retailers and packers to
the core of the production chain.
To whom does COOL
NOT apply?
COOL does not apply to covered commodities produced or packaged before Sept.
30. Small retailers are also exempt from COOL. Only retailers licensed as such
under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) of 1930 are subject to
the law and are required to label covered commodities for country of origin.
Under PACA, a retailer is any person
engaged in the business of selling any perishable agricultural commodity at
retail. Retailers are required to be licensed when the invoice cost of all purchases
of perishable agricultural commodities exceeds $230,000 during a calendar year.
The term perishable agricultural
commodity means fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. There are about 4,000
PACA licensees that operate about 36,000 retail stores. This definition
excludes butcher shops and exporters. Many small "mom and pop" type
retailers will not be required to comply with COOL.
Foodservice businesses (restaurants,
hotels, caterers, etc) are exempt from COOL. Salad bars and delis in retail
establishments that provide ready-to-eat foods are also exempt.
Processed food items are exempted from
labeling. These items include any muscle cut of beef or veal that has undergone
a change in character, or that has been combined with at least one other
covered commodity or food component. Processing includes cooking, curing,
smoking, extruding, breading and/or the addition of sauce. These are just a few
examples.
The simple addition of water, salt or
sugar does not constitute processing when it is only added to the meat as a
simple step to prepare for cooking and consumption. Some examples include
meatloaf, meatballs, fabricated steak, breaded veal cutlets, corned beef,
sausage and marinated/flavored beef.
The four labeling
categories for muscle cuts of beef and veal
U.S. Origin: Muscle cuts of beef and veal must be derived exclusively
from animals
(1) born, raised, and slaughtered in
the U.S. (including animals born and raised in Alaska and Hawaii and
transported for a period of time not more than 60 days through Canada to the U.S.
and slaughtered in the U.S.); or
(2) present in the U.S. on or before
July 15, 2008, and once present in the U.S., remained continuously in the U.S..
Multiple countries of origin that
include the U.S.: If an animal was born, raised and/or
slaughtered in the U.S., and was not imported for immediate slaughter, the
origin of the resulting meat products derived from that animal may be
designated as Product of the United States, Country X, and/or (as applicable)
Country Y where Country X and Country Y represent the actual or possible
countries of foreign origin. An example of that label would be "Product of
the United States, Mexico, or Canada."
Imported Direct for Slaughter:
If an animal was imported into the U.S. for immediate slaughter (spends less
than two weeks in the U.S.), the origin of the resulting meat products derived
from that animal shall be designated as Product of Country X and the United
States. An example of that label would be "Product of Canada and the
United States."
Imported Beef:
Boxed beef imported into the U.S. must be labeled with its country of origin
before it comes into the U.S. An example of that label would be "Product
of Australia."
Other provisions
Labeling of ground beef: Ground beef shall list all countries of origin
contained within that batch, or that may be reasonably contained in that batch.
In determining what is considered reasonable, when a raw material from a
specific country is not in a processor's inventory for more than 60 days, that
country shall no longer be included as a possible country of origin.
Remotely purchased products
(e.g., Internet sales): Retailers may provide country-of-origin information on
the sales vehicle (e.g., Internet site) or at the time the product is delivered
to the consumer.
State and regional labeling programs:
These marketing programs (e.g., "California Grown," "Go
Texan," and "Pennsylvania Proud") are not affected by this rule.
State, regional or locality label designations are acceptable in lieu of
country-of-origin labeling as long as they are recognizable as being in the U.S..
Regional examples include "Napa
Valley," "Rio Grande Valley" and "Pride of Appalachia".
The term "America" or "American" is not sufficient, because
it could denote countries from North or South America. This rule also replaces
any state country-of-origin law that may be in place.
Labeling of the
product
The label must be in a conspicuous location and legible to allow consumers to
identify the country(ies) of origin. Retailers may commingle covered
commodities from more than one country of origin provided all possible origins
are listed. The COOL notification can be on the individual package of beef or
on a placard or sign as long as it is conspicuous and noticeable to the
consumer.
Recordkeeping
for retailers and packers
Retailers must maintain records or other documentary evidence that permits
verification of origin claims made at retail. These records may be maintained
in any location and, unless specified otherwise, must be maintained for a
period of one year from the date the declaration was made at retail. Upon
request, these records must be provided to any duly authorized representatives
of USDA within five business days of the request.
For covered commodities sold in
pre-labeled consumer-ready packages, the record must identify the covered
commodity and the retail supplier. For products that are pre-labeled with the
origin information on the shipping container (or other type of outer
container), the label itself is sufficient evidence on which the retailer may
rely to establish the product's origin at the point of sale. In this case,
retailers must still maintain a record identifying the covered commodity and
the retail supplier.
In addition, to allow substantiation
of the origin claim, the retailer must either maintain the pre-labeled shipping
container at the retail store for as long as the product is on hand, or ensure
the origin information is included in the record identifying the covered
commodity and the retail supplier.
For products that are not pre-labeled,
the retailer must maintain records that identify the covered commodity, the
retail supplier and the origin information.
The supplier of a covered commodity
responsible for initiating a country-of-origin declaration (the packer) must
possess or have legal access to records that are necessary to substantiate that
claim. In the case of beef or veal, a producer affidavit shall be considered
acceptable evidence on which the slaughter facility may rely to initiate the
origin claim, if it is made by someone having first-hand knowledge of the
origin of the animal(s).
Recordkeeping
for producers
We expect an affidavit will be all that is expected of cattle producers in
making their determination of country of origin. Usual business records can be
used to verify those claims if a packer or retailer conducts an audit.
However, USDA has not, and will not,
issue a standardized affidavit. Industry partners have worked to develop a
standardized affidavit that can be used by all producers.
Bottom line
We recommend that producers ensure they have some sort of record (import
documents, calf book, health records or other typical business record) to
verify the origin of your cattle. Country-of-origin claims can be made for an
individual animal or a group lot of animals.
The information contained within a National
Animal Identification System-(NAIS) compliant program will comply with COOL. No
further records will be required.
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