House Set to Repeal Mandatory COOL Rules
WASHINGTON (November 19, 2004) - The GOP-led House has announced it will seek a repeal of mandatory country-of-origin labeling requirements as part of a spending bill it plans to pass before Thanksgiving. Originally set to go into effect in the fall of 2004, Congress last year postponed the mandatory COOL requirements until 2006. The bill is popular among ranchers, many of whom said U.S. consumers feel more confident about the safety and quality of domestically raised beef than with imports. Feedlot operators and processors, however, have argued the cost of mandatory requirements — estimated in the hundreds of millions by the Agriculture Department — would outweigh potential benefits to consumers. The impending repeal was announced prior to USDA’s statement yesterday that an animal had been sent to its facility in Ames, Iowa, after two screening tests for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, proved inconclusive.
Matthew Enis
Supermarket News Daily Update November 19,2004
More COOL news
USDA to Publish Seafood COOL Rules Next Week
WASHINGTON (October 1, 2004) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture will officially release the interim final rule on mandatory country-of-origin labeling for seafood with its publication in the Federal Register on Oct. 5. The rules will become effective six months later, in March 2005. The seafood industry, which did not benefit from an earlier, negotiated delay in mandatory COOL for other categories like meat and produce, has been waiting for the regulations to be handed down by the original implementation date of Sept. 30. Commodity groups in the impacted categories submitted a voluntary plan for labeling this past summer, though the proposal is still in Congress. Nevertheless, food industry officials voiced skepticism regarding the seafood plan. “Although we are grateful that USDA has taken a number of our industry’s suggestions and simplified the final rule in significant respects, the rule still runs over 200 pages as issued, emphasizing the flaws in the underlying law: excessive paperwork and other bureaucratic measures that do not benefit consumers and only inflate the cost of healthy, popular seafood products," said Tim Hammonds, president and chief executive officer, Food Marketing Institute.
Lawmakers Approve Bill Making COOL Voluntary
WASHINGTON (July 23, 2004) -- The U.S. House Agriculture committee took the first step yesterday in approving a bill that would make country-of-origin labeling for meat, seafood, produce and other fresh foods voluntary. H.R. 4576, developed and written by the affected commodity groups, would replace the mandatory, federally unfunded program scheduled to take effect for meat and produce in September 2006, and for seafood Sept. 30 of this year. The bill was approved by voice vote Thursday, and is scheduled to move to the House floor for full consideration as early as September. While it has a fairly strong chance of passing a full House vote, some observers noted its chances might be endangered in the Senate, where minority leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) has voiced opposition to any voluntary program.
Industry Applauds Introduction of Voluntary COOL Bill
WASHINGTON (June 16, 2004) -- Food retailers, wholesalers and many trade associations urged Congress to approve voluntary country-of-origin labeling legislation introduced yesterday by House Agriculture Committee leaders Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Charles Stenholm (D-Texas). The bill, called the Food Promotion Act of 2004, differs from the mandatory legislation approved last year by permitting U.S. state, regional and brand labeling programs, as well as reducing third-party audits and paper records as required by the mandatory law. One retailer, Dave Corsi, vice president of produce and floral, Wegmans Food Markets, Rochester, N.Y., said, “I think this is an approach to origin labeling that all sectors can endorse." Corsi is also chairman of the COOL task force of the Produce Marketing Association, one of the trade groups supporting the new measure. -- Robert Vosburgh.
Voluntary COOL Legislation Expected
WASHINGTON (June 1, 2004) -- As early as this week, House lawmakers are slated to introduce legislation that would create a voluntary federal program for labeling produce, beef, pork, seafood and peanuts as to their country of origin. The measure, to be sponsored by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and the panel’s top Democrat, Charles Stenholm from Texas, is the latest turn in the controversial legislative fight over country-of-origin labeling. A coalition of food retailers and wholesalers, produce, beef and pork producers, meat packers and food processors is pressing for a voluntary program that would reverse a mandatory labeling law approved two years ago. Earlier this year, voluntary labeling proponents on Capitol Hill succeeded in securing a two-year delay of the mandatory COOL measure, slated to go into effect Sept. 30. -- Joanna Ramey.