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Issues: Country of Origin Labeling

On July 25, 2007, PMA and other industry stakeholder groups in the retail and meat industries announced important country of origin labeling (COOL) improvements to reduce the regulatory burden and cost of the country of origin law currently on the books. These improvements are:

1. Significantly reduced penalties for mistakes in labeling at point of purchase, including a “good faith” standard that reduces the liability for retailers unless shown to be disregarding or willfully violating the law. This helps ease the burden on retailers, so long as they are working to comply with the law. Note that produce suppliers must provide country of origin information to retailers, and the truthfulness of that declaration is still subject to PACA law.
2. Retailers would not be liable for misinformation provided by suppliers, which should eliminate the need for retailers to audit their suppliers to ensure compliance.
3. No new record-keeping. Normal records kept in the regular course of doing business are sufficient to comply with the law. This is an important relief from the original law that threatened an extreme cost burden on the total supply chain.
4. A specific provision to allow labeling of a U.S. State, region or locality in which a product is produced to meet label standards as product of U.S. Therefore, a descriptor such as Minnesota Grown or Pride of New York would be sufficient labeling to comply with law.

These provisions were included in both the 2007 House and Senate Farm Bills. The next legislative step is the appointment of a conference committee that will iron out any major differences between the two bills. Presently the Farm Bill negotiations are ongoing. The 2002 Farm Bill was due to expire March 15 but has been extended until May 16.

Once the conference committee's work is completed, the final Farm Bill will go to the House and Senate for an "up or down" vote (no amendments can be attached), then on to President Bush to be signed into law. After that, it is up to USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service to develop regulations.

PMA Member Country of Origin Labeling Resources

• PMA and WGA Joint Letter on Country of Origin Labeling - April 2, 2008
• PMA Summary of 2003 USDA Proposed Rule on Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling
• PMA Country of Origin Labeling Frequently Asked Questions
• PMA Country of Origin Labeling Timeline
• PMA Comments to USDA on Country of Origin Labeling - August 17, 2007

Industry Country of Origin Labeling Resources

• USDA Agricultural Marketing Service: Country of Origin Labeling Web Site
• USDA Agricultural Marketing Service: 2003 Proposed Rule on Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling
• USDA Economic Research Service Report: Country of Origin Labeling - Theory and Observation
• U.S. Government Accounting Office Report: Fresh Produce - Potential Consequences of Country of Origin Labeling