The USDA just issued its final rules for COOL - country of origin labeling. COOL first went into effect for seafood in 2005, but it did not go into effect for "everything else" until Sept 30, 2008 - and it was not actually enforced until the beginning of 2009. By everything else, I mean:
muscle cuts and ground beef (including veal), lamb, pork, chicken, and goat meat; perishable agricultural commodities; peanuts; pecans; ginseng; and macadamia nuts.
The law also specifies that the label must be in a "conspicuous location" so that you, the consumer, can actually SEE it. What an idea!
Retail Notification to the Consumer - 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 fine print and an explanation of loopholes in the law is detailed below. This rule will not go into effect for 60 days (right now there is an interim final rule that is in effect though, so you SHOULD be seeing some labels on your food.) |
FYI, if your food says it was Made in the USA, here's what that means:
U.S. Origin -Perishable agricultural commodities, pecans, ginseng, peanuts, and macadamia nuts must be produced (harvested) in the United States; beef, lamb, pork, chicken, and goat must be derived exclusively from animals:
(1) born, raised, and slaughtered in the United States (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 United States and slaughtered in the United States); or
(2) present in the United States on or before July 15, 2008, and once present in the United States, remained continuously in the United States.
Farm-raised fish and shellfish must be hatched, raised, harvested, and processed in the United States and that has not undergone substantial transformation (as established by U.S. Customs and Border Protection) outside the United States; and wild fish and shellfish must be harvested in the waters of the United States or by a U.S. flagged vessel and processed in the United States or aboard a U.S. flagged vessel, and that has not undergone a substantial transformation (as established by U.S. Customs and Border Protection) outside of the United States.
Loophole #1: Definition of a Retailer
Retailer - Only firms licensed as a retailer under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act of 1930 are subject to the law and are required to label covered commodities for country of origin and method of production. 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... This definition excludes butcher shops, fish markets, and exporters.
Therefore, the 11% of meat and fish sold in butcher shops and fish markets are exempt.
Loophole #2: Food Service Establishments
Food Service Establishment - Salad bars and delis located within retail establishments that provide ready-to-eat foods are exempt from the law. Food service establishments are exempted by the statute.
(I'm not necessarily complaining about this one... just including it to make sure I'm giving complete information.)
Loophole #3: Processed Foods
With a really, really broad definition of processed food...
Processed Food Item - Processed food items are exempted from labeling by the statute.
Processed food item means:
a retail item derived from a covered commodity that has undergone specific processing resulting in a change in the character of the covered commodity, or that has been combined with at least one other covered commodity or other substantive food component (e.g., chocolate, breading, tomato sauce), except that the addition of a component (such as water, salt, or sugar) that enhances or represents a further step in the preparation of the product for consumption, would not in itself result in a processed food item. Specific processing that results in a change in the character of the covered commodity includes cooking (e.g., frying, broiling, grilling, boiling, steaming, baking, roasting), curing (e.g., salt curing, sugar curing, drying), smoking (hot or cold), and restructuring (e.g., emulsifying and extruding).
Examples related to this exemption would be fish sticks, surimi, mussels in tomato sauce, seafood medley, coconut shrimp, soups, stews, and chowders, sauces, pates, smoked salmon, marinated fish fillets, canned tuna, canned sardines, canned salmon, crab salad, shrimp cocktail, gefilte fish, sushi, breaded shrimp, breaded chicken tenders, teriyaki flavored pork loin, roasted peanuts, and fruit medley.
Fruit medley, did you catch that? So a cantaloupe must be labeled but if you cut it up and mix it with honeydew and grapes then you don't need to label it.
Says Food & Water Watch:
Given the recent scandals about the safety of imported food, it is unacceptable that the rule was approved with an overly broad definition for which foods are 'processed.' This definition exempts from labeling over 60 percent of pork, the majority of frozen vegetables, an estimated 95 percent of peanuts, pecans, and macadamia nuts, and multi-ingredient fresh produce items such as fruit salads and salad mixes. It is inexcusable to exempt so much food from this basic labeling requirement just because one ingredient has been added or because something has been roasted or cooked.
Read The Ethicurean's take on the final COOL rule here. They point out that because this rule does not take effect before March 16, Obama CAN strengthen it. Let's hope... |
