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FSIS issues interim final COOL rule
The US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and
Inspection Service have issued an interim final rule amending its regulations to
provide that, to receive approval by FSIS, any label for a meat or poultry
product that is a covered commodity, as defined by the Agricultural Marketing
Service interim final rule on country-of-origin labeling, must comply with that
interim final rule.
Mandatory COOL
On Aug. 1, 2008, AMS issued an interim
final rule addressing mandatory COOL, and covers muscle cuts of beef (including
veal), lamb, chicken, goat and pork and ground beef, ground lamb, ground
chicken, ground goat and ground pork; perishable agricultural commodities (fresh
and frozen fruits and vegetables); peanuts; pecans, ginseng and macadamia nuts
-- as required by the 2002 and 2008 Farm Bills. FSIS is not amending its
regulations or labelling policies for meat or poultry products that are
non-covered commodities.
FSIS is also amending its regulations to
provide that the addition of a COOL statement on labels for meat and poultry
product covered commodities that are to be sold by retailers and that comply
with the AMS' interim final rule will be generically approved. Currently,
Federal meat and poultry product inspection regulations require COOL statements
on the labels of immediate containers for imported products.
Date effective
The FSIS interim final rule will be
effective on Sept. 30, 2008. To allow time for covered commodities that are
already in the chain of commerce to clear the system, the requirements of this
rule will not apply to covered commodities produced or packaged before that
date.
Editor PigProgress
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