Comments on the Interim Final Rule on Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling of Beef, Pork, Lamb, Chicken, Goat Meat, Perishable Agricultural Commodities, Peanuts, Pecans, Ginseng, and Macadamia Nuts
September 29, 2008
VIA ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION
Country of Origin Labeling Program
Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20250–0254
RE: Docket No. AMS–LS–07–0081
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) is writing in response to the Interim Final Rule on Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling of Beef, Pork, Lamb, Chicken, Goat Meat, Perishable Agricultural Commodities, Peanuts, Pecans, Ginseng, and Macadamia Nuts. We are pleased to see the implementation of this important program and appreciate the opportunity to comment on this interim final rule.
NASDA represents the commissioners, secretaries and directors of agriculture in the fifty states and four territories. We have been a strong supporter of mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) for many years and believe it will provide American consumers important information on the source of the retail food they purchase. It is important that the implementation process reflect the intent of Congress to ensure its benefit to the consumer.
Outreach and Education
As the regulations are implemented it is essential that adequate and useful information about the program is provided to producers of the covered products listed under this rule. The Department’s recent announcement that listening sessions will be held over the next few weeks is an important step and we support that effort. However, we are concerned that many of the people affected by the regulations may be unable to participate in the scheduled sessions. If possible, NASDA and its members would like to extend an offer to help facilitate additional outreach efforts and state specific informational sessions to benefit the many producers and small growers who will be impacted by this rule.
Enforcement
In the background information accompanying the interim final rule, the Department indicates that it has “entered into agreements with States having existing enforcement infrastructure to assist in compliance reviews for fish and shellfish covered commodities”. NASDA supports the use of existing infrastructure to aid the Department in compliance reviews. We encourage the Department to work with and assist those states that have the appropriate infrastructure in establishing enforcement agreements based on the fish and seafood COOL model.
Preemption
The Department acknowledges that the legislation put forward by Congress does not expressly grant federal preemption but concludes that the legislative intent of Congress supports preemption of State laws. It is preferable for producers to have one law governing compliance but it is also important that the maximum amount of product information be provided to consumers, as intended by the COOL legislation. In the event of conflict, we would prefer that the Department err on the side of more information to the consumer rather than less and ask that the Department allow states maximum flexibility to enforce their laws, if doing so will provide the most information to the consumer.
Labeling
We are concerned with the stated intention of some to use the multiple country of origin labeling on meat products derived from animals exclusively born, raised and slaughtered in the U.S. The application of these labels, called “NAFTA” labels, on U.S. domestically produced meat products would contradict the spirit and intent of the law passed by Congress and would not provide the specific information consumers are looking for. We urge USDA to issue a clarification to the final rule that will specifically prohibit the use of multiple countries of origin labels on meat products derived from animals born, raised and slaughtered in the U.S.
Summary
In summary, we have been eagerly waiting for the implementation of COOL since the passage of the 2002 Farm Bill and are immensely pleased with the Department’s intent to begin the implementation process. We appreciate the opportunity to submit our comments on these important regulations.
Sincerely,
Ron Sparks
President, NASDA
Commissioner, Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries