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Groups Ask OMB to Keep Spirit, Intent Washington, D.C. (July 22, 2008) – This morning, a joint letter from R-CALF USA, the National Farmers Union (NFU), the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and Food & Water Watch (FWW) was hand-delivered to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to request that while OMB is reviewing new implementing regulations for country-of-origin labeling (COOL), that it “fully incorporate both the spirit and intent of Congress’ new amendments.” Mandatory COOL originally was passed into law with the 2002 Farm Bill, but powerful opponents succeeded for years in postponing the implementation of the law. With the passage of the 2008 Farm Bill – the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 – opponents and supporters of COOL came together to remediate stakeholder concerns in the language, and the new COOL law is scheduled to take effect Sept. 30, 2008. “Of particular concern is that farmers and ranchers – who raise the animals from which the commodities covered by COOL are derived – not be subjected to regulations more burdensome or stringent than the new COOL law requires,” said R-CALF USA COOL Committee Chair Mike Schultz. For example, the new law states producers may rely on records maintained in the normal conduct of business, including animal health papers, import or customs documents, or producer affidavits as records that can be used to verify their compliance with Mandatory COOL. “The new regulations should not favor any one of the expressly authorized record options over another, nor should the regulations encourage the use of any unauthorized option – such as mandatory animal identification – and that USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) must accept any one of the authorized record-keeping options to definitively verify the origin of any animal subject to an audit,” Schultz explained. The new COOL law states that animals in the U.S. on or before July 15, 2008, are presumed to be of domestic origin. However, for animals not already in the U.S. by July 15, the letter requests that farmers and ranchers be allowed to attest to the presence or absence of import markings as evidence of their animal’s origin. Animals that bear foreign import markings should only be eligible for a multiple country-of-origin label that would include the foreign country associated with the particular marking. Animals not bearing a foreign import marking should be presumed to have a U.S. country of origin. “It’s also important for COOL to be successful that consumers can easily understand what the new labels mean,” said Schultz. “It should be easy for shoppers to distinguish between a product that was imported only for immediate slaughter and processing, a product that was derived from an animal that was at least partially subject to U.S. animal production standards before processing, and products from an animal that solely was born, raised and slaughtered in the United States. Purchasers also should easily be able to find the label on ground beef products that would indicate the meat could’ve well come from a number of countries.” Also of utmost importance will be requiring USDA to not engage in mischief that would allow food processors to wiggle out of the COOL regulations. “For example, under the COOL law for fish and shellfish, processors who bread their shrimp – a minor step in processing – are not required to report which country that shrimp came from,” Schultz emphasized. “We don’t want food processors to be able to skirt the regulations by adding minor ingredients to a meat product, thereby excluding it from the new COOL requirements. “We firmly believe that efficient and effective implementing regulations can be achieved, provided USDA develops regulations that incorporate both the spirit and intent of Congress, as outlined in the 2008 Farm Bill,” he concluded. Note: To view the letter to OMB, visit the “Country of Origin Labeling” link at www.r-calfusa.com. # # # R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has dozens of affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516. |
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This page was last updated on Thursday, December 04, 2008. |
