COOL Labels are Coming Soon!

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 16:00:00 PM PDT

COOL is already required for seafood but now it will be extended to beef, pork, chicken, lamb, fruits, veggies, and peanuts. Processed foods are exempt. The Chicago Tribune ran a pretty good article on the subject, New Law Requires Labels on Meat.

Please note that the USDA's rules for COOL are currently considered "interim," which means that they are in effect but they will be issuing final rules in the near future. In the meantime, we'll probably have the opportunity to comment on the interim rule at Regulations.gov. Also, check out this PDF by Consumers Union that helps consumers understand the new rules.

Because of the complexities of the livestock industry, some product labels may list multiple countries. That's especially true of ground beef, because some meat processors combine cuts from a number of countries to make ground meat and hamburger patties.

Will Prices Go Up?
The food industry's big complaint with COOL is the cost - $2.5 billion in the first year. Consumers Union put out a press release saying they doubt this will lead to an increase in prices for consumers:

COOL is already in effect for seafood and for foods that are packaged or canned in other countries. Some in the industry have indicated that the new rules will impose high costs. "The country labels on seafood seem to have had little impact on price and packaged foods have included these labels for decades. We would be surprised if the new labels on meat and fresh produce caused noticeable changes in price in the supermarket," said Halloran. "Consumers have clearly indicated that they want to have the information to protect themselves at the grocery store, and COOL will help them do that."

Loopholes
COOL comes with some loopholes, like the exemption of the 11% of meat and fish sold in butcher shops or fish markets. Also exempt are processed foods. Therefore bacon, ham, or roasted peanuts don't need labels. Obviously the first thing someone trying to evade COOL would think is "how can I get my food to be considered 'processed'?" Lucky for them, the USDA was rather permissive in its definition of processed foods.

One of the biggest disagreements over the law's fine points is what constitutes a processed food item.

Agriculture tried to clarify this with some guidelines issued in August. A bag of imported frozen peas, for instance, must list its country of origin under COOL. But a bag of peas mixed with carrots is considered processed, and does not require such a label.

"It's considered processed if it's combined with one other ingredient," said Patty Lovera, assistant director of Food & Water Watch, a non-profit consumer rights organization. "We think they're being incredibly broad."

Another controversy involves imported livestock. Under COOL, meat derived from cattle imported into the U.S. for immediate slaughter can bear a label that states it's a product of its origin country and the United States, even though the animal was raised entirely outside the U.S.

Some fear that some meatpackers who slaughter both imported and domestic cattle won't bother with specific labels, and instead will apply the same label to both.

Other problems involve verifying the origins of thousands of cattle slaughtered each day to feed the U.S. meat market. Woodall's group is just one of a number of industry associations that joined to draft an affidavit that will make it easier for ranchers to show where their cattle came from-information that will be vital for COOL down the production line.

Somehow these last few paragraphs look to me like they might lead some legislators to start beating the NAIS drum again (National Animal ID System)... not good. I have no problems with tracking factory farmed animals who may be entering this country for slaughter as mentioned in the article. But what about small ranchers here in the U.S. whose animals don't carry the same risks as factory farmed animals? They should not be forced to comply with a rule meant for Big Ag.