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Issues: Country of Origin LabelingOn January 15, 2009, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the final rule for mandatory country of origin labeling required by the 2002 and 2008 farm bills. The rule becomes effective on March 16, 2009, 60 days after the date of publication. Commodities covered under COOL must be labeled at retail to indicate its country of origin. Commodities are excluded from mandatory COOL if the commodity is an ingredient in a processed food item. The definition of a processed food item remains unchanged from the Aug. 1, 2008, interim final rule. Excluded from COOL labeling are items derived from a covered commodity that has undergone a physical or chemical change -- such as cooking, curing, or smoking -- or that has been combined with other covered commodities or other substantive food components such as chocolate, breading and tomato sauce. Also exempt are food service establishments, such as restaurants, lunchrooms, cafeterias, food stands, bars, lounges and similar enterprises. PMA's Leadership Role on COOL New - January 19 Webinar Recording Available! To help retailers better understand COOL in-store compliance trends, PMA hosted a free Webinar on January 19. USDA representatives shared trends highlights from their findings from months of produce department reviews. You can view the Webinar presentation or watch and listen to the Webinar recording. Country of origin labeling is an industry issue PMA has been involved with for many years. In August 2008, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued an interim final rule for mandatory country of origin labeling and sought industry comment. PMA submitted comments on the IFR on September 17, 2008. PMA also provided analysis of the IFR, as well as Webinars, co-authored COOL best practices with Western Growers Association, among other outreach activities. It is provided in both HTML and PDF formats below. PMA Country of Origin Labeling Resources
USDA Country of Origin Labeling Resources
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