AMI's COOL Response to Vilsack
By Pork news staff
| Tuesday, February 24, 2009
American Meat Institute has responded to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack's letter requesting additional country-of-origin labeling measures over and above those already found in the law. AMI president and chief executive officer J. Patrick Boyle said AMI is "gratified" that USDA will allow the final rule to go into effect. Boyle also noted the high level of involvement by industry stakeholders in the six-year process of developing COOL legislation.
The AMI official went on to add that AMI anticipates almost 95 percent of beef and pork products will be eligible to bear a "Product of the USA" label once the rule goes into effect. However, Boyle said it will be up to individual companies to decide compliance levels of issues beyond what the law currently prescribes.
"To the extent that companies are able and elect to go beyond these federal labeling requirements, as requested by Agriculture Secretary Vilsack, is an individual company decision, which will have to be made in collaboration with a company's retail grocery customers, which ultimately are the entities that provide country-of-origin information to their consumers," he said.
Vilsack has requested several additional measures in addition to those outlined in COOL legislation including information about what production step -- born, raised and slaughtered -- occurred in each country on labeling of product from animals with multiple countries of origin. Vilsack also requested that processors label products that "are subject to curing, smoking, broiling, grilling, or steaming."
Source: Meatingplace.com
