Transcript Country of Origin Labeling (COOL)

Country of Origin Labeling (COOL)
and the Cattle Industry
Derrell S. Peel
Livestock Marketing Specialist
Oklahoma State University
Mandatory COOL
• Proposed Mandatory Rules
– Issued October 27, 2003
• Comment Period
– Ends December 29, 2003
What is Country of Origin Labeling
• Included in 2002 Farm Bill (PL 107-171)
• Amends Ag Marketing Act of 1946
• Covers 500+ retail products
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Beef, Pork, Lamb (whole muscle and ground)
Fresh and Frozen Fruits and Vegetables
Seafood (wild and farm-raised)
Peanuts
• Administered by AMS
What Country of Origin Labeling Isn’t
• Is not animal health or food safety
– FDA (food)
– FSIS (meat)
– APHIS (animals)
• Is not market grading
– AMS
Components of COOL
• Retail product must be labeled
• Food service excluded
– Including deli’s and salad bars in retail
establishments
• Excludes processed foods
• Becomes mandatory September 30,
2004
Who Must Label - Retailer

Retailer has meaning given in Perishable
Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) – a business
engaged in the selling of fresh and frozen fruits
and vegetables at retail with an annual invoice
value of more than $230,000
– Approximately 4,500 licensees (37,000 stores)
– PACA definition excludes butcher shops, fish
markets, and exporters

Exempts food service establishments including
those within retail establishments (e.g. delis and
salad bars)
Consumer Notification
Required at Retail
• Country of Origin
• Label or notice must:
– Be legible
– Be in English
– Not obscure other required
information
Exclusions
• Covered commodities are excluded if an
“ingredient in a processed food item”
• Regulation defines “processed food
item”
• Does not exclude covered commodities
just because they have been further
prepared for consumption
Processed Food Item –
Change of Character
• A combination of ingredients that include a
covered commodity that has undergone a
physical or chemical change, and has
character that is different from that of the
covered commodity
• Examples of covered commodities excluded
because of change of character:
– Oranges squeezed to make orange juice
– Pork bellies cured and smoked to make bacon
Processed Food Item – Combination of
Substantive Food Components
• A covered commodity that has been combined
with:
– Other covered commodities
– Other substantive food components,
And has a character different than that of the
covered commodity
• Examples of covered commodities excluded because
they are a combination of substantive food
components:
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Bagged salad (e.g. lettuce, carrots and cabbage)
Fruit trays/Vegetable trays (e.g. party trays)
Seafood medley (e.g. shrimp, scallops and clams)
Mixed nuts
Covered Commodities
Required to be Labeled
• Examples:
– Solution-enhanced and seasoned pork loin
– Cooked beef roast
– Canned salmon
– Bagged lettuce
– Canned roasted and salted peanuts
– Breaded shrimp
Covered Products – Muscle
Cuts of Beef, Lamb and Pork
• “All muscle cuts of beef, lamb and pork
whether chilled, frozen, raw, cooked,
seasoned or breaded.”
Beef Products
• Whole muscle meats
– Product of U.S.A.
– Mixed Origin
– Imported
• Ground beef
– Each specific origin included in the blend
must be included on the label in
alphabetical order
Labeling Requirements
• Product of U.S.A.
– Born, Raised and Slaughtered in the U.S.
• Product of Country X
– Labeled from entry until final sale
– Label only covers importing country (not
other countries of birth or production)
Labeling Requirements cont.
• Mixed Origin (whole muscle)
• Examples
– Imported from country X, raised and slaughtered
in U.S.
• With records: Born (and raised) in country X, raised and
processed in U.S.
– Imported from country Y, slaughtered in U.S.
• With records: Born in country X, raised in country Y,
processed in U.S.
Labeling Requirements cont.
• Mixed Origin (ground or blended)
• Example
– Ground beef – Product of Australia;
Imported from Mexico, Raised and
Slaughtered in U.S.A.; Product of U.S.A.
Recordkeeping
• Retailers must label covered commodities
– Must keep Point of Sale records for 7 days
– Must keep records of origin for 2 years
• Suppliers must provide information about
country of origin
– Producers, handlers, processors, packers,
importers
• Verifiable (auditable) records
– Suppliers must maintain records
– Affidavits may be used to certify origin and
existence of records
Recordkeeping - Suppliers
• “Any person engaged in the business of
supplying a covered commodity to a retailer,
whether directly or indirectly, is required to
maintain records to establish and identify the
immediate previous source and the
immediate subsequent recipient of a covered
commodity, in such a way that identifies the
product unique to that transaction, for a
period of 2 years from the date of the
transaction.”
Recordkeeping - Suppliers
• Suppliers must provide origin
information to buyers
• Records must identify previous source
and subsequent recipient of product
• Must possess or have legal access to
records that substantiate origin claims
• Must maintain records unique to each
transaction for 2 years
Recordkeeping - Suppliers
• “For suppliers that handle similar covered
commodities from more than one country, the
supplier must be able to document that the
origin of a product was separately tracked,
while in their control, during any production
or packaging processes to demonstrate that
the identity of the product was maintained.”
Enforcement and Violations
• Retailers and suppliers are subject to
enforcement provisions
– $10,000 fine for willful violations
• USDA-AMS will conduct compliance
reviews
• USDA-AMS will initiate investigations
and enforcement actions
• Other statutes may apply as well
COOL is a Food Labeling Bill
• Food Labeling is covered by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA)
• Code of Federal Regulations
– Title 21, Chapter I, Part 101.18
– Misbranding of Food
• “Among the representations in the labeling of a food which
render such food misbranded is any representation that
expresses or implies a geographical origin of the food except
when such representation is a truthful representation of
geographical origin”
Implications for Cattle
Industry
• Probable minimum cow-calf records
– Owner and location
– Breeding herd inventory
• Purchased animals
• Cull sales
• Raised animals
– Number and Sex of Births by year
– Animal sales
• Buyer
• Date
• Animal sex
• Breeding animals are covered by COOL
Implications for Cattle
Industry
• Probable minimum stocker records
• Put-together groups
– Seller and location of purchased animals
• Date and sex of purchased animals
– Animal sales
• Buyer
• Date
• Animal sex
• Must be able to trace animals from different source
groups through management sorting and
commingling into several sales groups
Implications for Cattle
Industry
• Probable minimum feedlot records
• Each pen
– Seller and location of purchased animals
• Date and sex of purchased animals
– Animal sales
• Buyer
• Date
• Animal sex
Implications for Cattle
Industry
• Probable minimum packer records
• Each shift or slaughter group
– Owner and location of purchased animals
• Date and sex of purchased animals
– meat sales by slaughter/fab group
• Lot number, date and plant
Individual Animal ID
• Required? – No, in fact, forbidden as a
USDA mandate
• Necessary? – Maybe not
• Helpful? – Definitely
– Especially for stocker and feedlot sectors
Current Status of COOL
• House and Senate Appropriations
actions have different language
regarding implementation of COOL
– These differences are yet to be reconciled
• Various proposals to modify or repeal
COOL
Challenge for the Industry
• Plan for compliance
– Rules are uncertain and subject to change
• Make beneficial use of new information
– Use records to improve production and
marketing