Country of origin labeling (COOL) was a provision in the 2002 Farm Bill. At the time, COOL was to affect beef, lamb, pork, fish, perishable agricultural commodities and peanuts and its implementation was scheduled for Sept. 30, 2004. The implementation of this regulation has been postponed twice for all products except fish and shellfish, with the final date for implementation set for Sept. 30, 2008. The new rule will be enforced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and under the new farm bill also covers chicken, goat meat, ginseng, pecans and macadamia nuts.

The rule was proposed with the goal of informing consumers about the origin of the food product choices available in the market.

Pork items covered in COOL include muscle cuts and ground pork. Processed pork products are exempt from the statue. Process pork products are retail products that have undergone specific processing resulting in a change in the character of the covered commodity, or that have been combined with at least one other covered commodity or food component.

Specific examples of processing that exempt the product from the rule include cooking (frying, broiling, grilling, boiling, steaming, baking, roasting), curing (salting, sugar curing, drying), smoking (hot or cold) and restructuring (emulsifying and extruding).

Compliance

The COOL rule affects food retailers (grocery stores, for example) and not food service outlets (such as restaurants). When it comes to pork products, these retailers are responsible for labeling muscle cuts and ground pork in a way that accurately describes their country of origin.

The rule also has requirements for packers and to ensure compliance, cooperation from the entire supply chain, including producers will be required.

COOL in practice

In practice, producers should be prepared to offer a signed affidavit or declaration of country of origin with every load of pigs that they sell, starting on Sept. 30. Each transaction in which pigs are sold, regardless of the pigs' weight, type, source or destination, should be accompanied by an affidavit. This way, producers who buy feeder pigs, for example, will be able to declare the animals' origin to their customer when they sell them as market hogs. The claim will be substantiated with the previous owner's (another producer's) affidavit. In cases where animals change ownership multiple times during the process, an affidavit should accompany each change of ownership.

An affidavit or declaration of country of origin must satisfy the following requirements:

• The document must identify the seller
• The document must identify the buyer
• The document must identify the animals involved in the transaction
• The document must state the origin of the animals involved in the transaction
• The document must be signed by a person who has first-hand knowledge of, or can substantiate through normal records (including affidavits on these animals), the country of origin of the animals involved in the transaction.

Samples of affidavits that may be required by packer customers can be found here: