Effective September 30, 2008 most retailers will be mandated to adhere to the policies regarding the country of origin labeling for all fresh fruits and vegetables.
Please refer to the following link Country of Origin Labeling Requirements regarding news, information and contacts for this requirement The main point of contact for questions or concerns you may have, concerning COOL is:
Martin E. O’Connor, Chief
USDA-AMS-LS-SAT
Room 2607-S, Stop 0254
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20250-0254
(202) 720 – 4486
3 Comments on “Country of Origin Labeling (COOL)”
Thanks for the great link! It takes me right to the information I need.
I am working with a company to promote traceback. Why doesn’t the USDA buy off on this “GS1 company prefix” as part of a “Positive Lot Identifcation” method? There are people in the USDA that can administratively approve this type of action in a minute. Why the delay, other than to have others feel their importance and power.
See the following link:
http://www.gs1.org/productssolutions/barcodes/technical
It would be perfect fit to Traceback and COOL.
Although we were expecting something offiicial a few months ago, we just heard:
USDA ISSUES FINAL RULE ON MANDATORY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING
WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2009 — The United States Department of Agriculture today announced details of the final regulation for the mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) program required by the 2002 and 2008 farm bills. The full text of the final rule will be published in the Jan. 15, 2009 Federal Register. The rule becomes effective on March 16, 2009, 60 days after the date of publication. Copies of the final rule and additional information are on display on line at http://www.ams.usda.gov/COOL.