Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) and the Cattle Industry

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Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) and the Cattle
Industry

• Derrell S. Peel
• Livestock Marketing Specialist
• Oklahoma State University

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Mandatory COOL

• Proposed Mandatory Rules
• Issued October 27, 2003
• Comment Period
• Ends December 29, 2003

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What is Country of Origin Labeling

• Included in 2002 Farm Bill (PL 107-171)
• Amends Ag Marketing Act of 1946
• Covers 500 retail products
• Beef, Pork, Lamb (whole muscle and ground)
• Fresh and Frozen Fruits and Vegetables
• Seafood (wild and farm-raised)
• Peanuts
• Administered by AMS

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What Country of Origin Labeling Isnt

• Is not animal health or food safety
• FDA (food)
• FSIS (meat)
• APHIS (animals)
• Is not market grading
• AMS

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Components of COOL

• Retail product must be labeled
• Food service excluded
• Including delis and salad bars in retail
  establishments
• Excludes processed foods
• Becomes mandatory September 30, 2004

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Who Must Label - Retailer

• Retailer has meaning given in Perishable
  Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) a business
  engaged in the selling of fresh and frozen fruits
  and vegetables at retail with an annual invoice
  value of more than 230,000
• Approximately 4,500 licensees (37,000 stores)
• PACA definition excludes butcher shops, fish
  markets, and exporters
• Exempts food service establishments including
  those within retail establishments (e.g. delis
  and salad bars)

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Consumer Notification Required at Retail

• Country of Origin
• Label or notice must
• Be legible
• Be in English
• Not obscure other required information

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Exclusions

• Covered commodities are excluded if an
  ingredient in a processed food item
• Regulation defines processed food item
• Does not exclude covered commodities just because
  they have been further prepared for consumption

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Processed Food Item Change of Character

• A combination of ingredients that include a
  covered commodity that has undergone a physical
  or chemical change, and has character that is
  different from that of the covered commodity
• Examples of covered commodities excluded because
  of change of character
• Oranges squeezed to make orange juice
• Pork bellies cured and smoked to make bacon

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Processed Food Item Combination of Substantive
Food Components

• A covered commodity that has been combined with
• Other covered commodities
• Other substantive food components,
• And has a character different than that of the
  covered commodity
• Examples of covered commodities excluded because
  they are a combination of substantive food
  components
• Bagged salad (e.g. lettuce, carrots and cabbage)
• Fruit trays/Vegetable trays (e.g. party trays)
• Seafood medley (e.g. shrimp, scallops and clams)
• Mixed nuts

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Covered Commodities Required to be Labeled

• Examples
• Solution-enhanced and seasoned pork loin
• Cooked beef roast
• Canned salmon
• Bagged lettuce
• Canned roasted and salted peanuts
• Breaded shrimp

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Covered Products Muscle Cuts of Beef, Lamb and
Pork

• All muscle cuts of beef, lamb and pork whether
  chilled, frozen, raw, cooked, seasoned or
  breaded.

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Beef Products

• Whole muscle meats
• Product of U.S.A.
• Mixed Origin
• Imported
• Ground beef
• Each specific origin included in the blend must
  be included on the label in alphabetical order

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Labeling Requirements

• Product of U.S.A.
• Born, Raised and Slaughtered in the U.S.
• Product of Country X
• Labeled from entry until final sale
• Label only covers importing country (not other
  countries of birth or production)

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Labeling Requirements cont.

• Mixed Origin (whole muscle)
• Examples
• Imported from country X, raised and slaughtered
  in U.S.
• With records Born (and raised) in country X,
  raised and processed in U.S.
• Imported from country Y, slaughtered in U.S.
• With records Born in country X, raised in
  country Y, processed in U.S.

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Labeling Requirements cont.

• Mixed Origin (ground or blended)
• Example
• Ground beef Product of Australia Imported from
  Mexico, Raised and Slaughtered in U.S.A.
  Product of U.S.A.

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Recordkeeping

• Retailers must label covered commodities
• Must keep Point of Sale records for 7 days
• Must keep records of origin for 2 years
• Suppliers must provide information about country
  of origin
• Producers, handlers, processors, packers,
  importers
• Verifiable (auditable) records
• Suppliers must maintain records
• Affidavits may be used to certify origin and
  existence of records

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Recordkeeping - Suppliers

• Any person engaged in the business of supplying
  a covered commodity to a retailer, whether
  directly or indirectly, is required to maintain
  records to establish and identify the immediate
  previous source and the immediate subsequent
  recipient of a covered commodity, in such a way
  that identifies the product unique to that
  transaction, for a period of 2 years from the
  date of the transaction.

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Recordkeeping - Suppliers

• Suppliers must provide origin information to
  buyers
• Records must identify previous source and
  subsequent recipient of product
• Must possess or have legal access to records that
  substantiate origin claims
• Must maintain records unique to each transaction
  for 2 years

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Recordkeeping - Suppliers

• For suppliers that handle similar covered
  commodities from more than one country, the
  supplier must be able to document that the origin
  of a product was separately tracked, while in
  their control, during any production or packaging
  processes to demonstrate that the identity of the
  product was maintained.

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Enforcement and Violations

• Retailers and suppliers are subject to
  enforcement provisions
• 10,000 fine for willful violations
• USDA-AMS will conduct compliance reviews
• USDA-AMS will initiate investigations and
  enforcement actions
• Other statutes may apply as well

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COOL is a Food Labeling Bill

• Food Labeling is covered by the Food and Drug
  Administration (FDA)
• Code of Federal Regulations
• Title 21, Chapter I, Part 101.18
• Misbranding of Food
• Among the representations in the labeling of a
  food which render such food misbranded is any
  representation that expresses or implies a
  geographical origin of the food except when such
  representation is a truthful representation of
  geographical origin

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Implications for Cattle Industry

• Probable minimum cow-calf records
• Owner and location
• Breeding herd inventory
• Purchased animals
• Cull sales
• Raised animals
• Number and Sex of Births by year
• Animal sales
• Buyer
• Date
• Animal sex
• Breeding animals are covered by COOL

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Implications for Cattle Industry

• Probable minimum stocker records
• Put-together groups
• Seller and location of purchased animals
• Date and sex of purchased animals
• Animal sales
• Buyer
• Date
• Animal sex
• Must be able to trace animals from different
  source groups through management sorting and
  commingling into several sales groups

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Implications for Cattle Industry

• Probable minimum feedlot records
• Each pen
• Seller and location of purchased animals
• Date and sex of purchased animals
• Animal sales
• Buyer
• Date
• Animal sex

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Implications for Cattle Industry

• Probable minimum packer records
• Each shift or slaughter group
• Owner and location of purchased animals
• Date and sex of purchased animals
• meat sales by slaughter/fab group
• Lot number, date and plant

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Individual Animal ID

• Required? No, in fact, forbidden as a USDA
  mandate
• Necessary? Maybe not
• Helpful? Definitely
• Especially for stocker and feedlot sectors

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Current Status of COOL

• House and Senate Appropriations actions have
  different language regarding implementation of
  COOL
• These differences are yet to be reconciled
• Various proposals to modify or repeal COOL

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Challenge for the Industry

• Plan for compliance
• Rules are uncertain and subject to change
• Make beneficial use of new information
• Use records to improve production and marketing

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OKLAHOMA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE