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Dow Jones – Thursday –
June 14, 2007 – 4:50 p.m. EDT
American
Meat Institute Advises Packers To Require Origin Proof
KANSAS CITY
(Dow Jones)--The American Meat Institute is advising its packer members to begin
requiring proof of origin for the
livestock they buy
for
slaughter and
further processing, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Dow Jones
Newswires.
Mandatory country-of-origin labeling is not in effect yet, but is scheduled to
take effect in September 2008. Calves being born now will be affected by the law
because they will be ready for
slaughter about
then.
The requirements for proof of origin will mean that farmers and ranchers selling
cattle and
hogs to packers for
slaughter will have
to begin providing proof that they were born and raised entirely within the U.S.
and to indemnify the packer for any liability that results from inaccurate
information provided to the packer, the letter said. Under the advised rules, a
producer also must allow a packer to have access to records so it can verify the
country of origin and that the records are being verified by an acceptable third
party. An affidavit at the time of sale will not be enough.
Some source-verified marketing programs already are in place for domestic and
export customers, but the vast majority of
livestock
slaughtered in the U.S. has no such process in place.
Joe Schuele, director of trade media for the National Cattlemen's
Beef Association,
said, for instance, that about 90% of the U.S.'s imported
beef ends up in
food service products, which aren't covered by the COOL law.
Janet Riley, senior vice president of public affairs and professional
development of the AMI, said the advisory was the result of a letter from the
Food Marketing Institute and was sent to nearly 100 groups like the NCBA,
National
Pork Producers
Council, R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America and the American Farm Bureau
Federation. The associations were contacted as a courtesy because they generally
assist members in these matters, she said.
The NCBA "found the correspondence (from AMI) to be a bit heavy-handed, but we
have warned for some time that there are costs and problems with this law,"
Schuele said. "This is the first sign of these costs coming to the surface."
That being said, "the NCBA will work to minimize any costs to producers
associated with the COOL law," Shuele said. "But people need to realize there
are problems associated with the law, and our ability may be limited."
NCBA members have adopted policy supporting a voluntary COOL program and not a
mandatory one. The law passed with the 2002 Farm Bill but never implemented
because of financing roadblocks thrown up by congressional opponents calls for a
mandatory labeling program.
But part of the objections to such a mandatory system were the proposed rules
published in the Oct. 30, 2003, Federal Register. These rules called for
extensive record-keeping by domestic producers of
beef,
pork,
lamb and seafood
producers, but not for
chicken, which was
left out.
Proponents of a mandatory COOL program decried the rules as too expensive and
onerous for producers. They say marking all
livestock imports
and assuming everything else is domestic would make more sense, but USDA
officials maintain this would not prove U.S.-origin. It would only assume it.
AMI's letter referred to a proposed rule published Oct. 30, 2003, in the Federal
Register as its guidance for its advisory to packer buyers.
David Warner, spokesman for the NPPC, said the proposed rule from 2003 was "no
good anymore, but it's all they (AMI) have."
Warner said
cattle producers
would be more involved right now.
Hog producers would
have to start worrying around January since pigs born then would be ready for
slaughter late in
the third quarter, he said.
Warner said the NPPC isn't in favor of any COOL program but would help producers
with any verification program they wanted to participate in. R-CALF USA has long
supported a mandatory COOL program, saying consumers deserve to be able to tell
where their meat is being produced.
After the AMI letter was delivered, R-CALF USD CEO Bill Bullard issued his own
statement and fired a letter back to the AMI saying that R-CALF USA would file
formal complaints with the Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards
Administration against the AMI and any meatpacker that follows the AMI
recommended records demands.
Bullard called the demands on
cattle producers
"false, misleading, deceitful and otherwise not in accordance with the law." The
proposed rule is not in force and has no effect, he said.
-By
Lester
Aldrich; Dow Jones Newswires; 913-322-5179; lester.aldrich@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones
Newswires
June 14, 2007 16:50 ET (20:50 GMT)
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