As COOL Gets Underway, USDA Looks Ahead

WASHINGTON — Monday, Sept. 30 marked the end of the comment period and the start of the implementation stage for country-of-origin labeling (COOL).

"We will now be working with the retail establishments over the next six months under an informed compliance approach, making sure they are implementing COOL in a manner that will provide to consumers the information they are looking for," said Bruce Knight, Under Secretary of Agriculture, during a press conference yesterday.

Covered commodities under COOL include muscle cuts of beef, lamb, chicken, goat and pork; ground beef, ground lamb, ground chicken, ground goat and ground pork, among other products, said Lloyd Day, administrator of the U.S.D.A.'s Agricultural Marketing Service. The COOL law excludes processed food items.

Source: MeatPoultry.com