Country of Origin Labeling Act

What is the COOL Act?

In 2002 Congress passed the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act, which amended the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to require retailers to inform consumers of the country of origin for covered products. The act was scheduled to become mandatory on September 30, 2004. Covered products listed in the regulation were beef (including veal), lamb, pork, fish, shellfish, perishable agricultural commodities, and peanuts. The 2004 Appropriations Act provided a reprieve September 30, 2006 to all covered commodities except wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish. On September 30, 2004 the USDA issued the interim final rule (IFR). In the IFR the USDA stated that active enforcement of the law would be delayed until April 4, 2005 and that the requirements of the rule will not apply to frozen fish or shellfish caught or harvested before December 6, 2004.

How can Surefish help you with COOL?

Many retailers have already notified their suppliers regarding the requirements under COOL, and asked suppliers to indicate how they will be following the regulation in order to provide the retailers with accurate information. Surefish can help suppliers develop their COOL programs in order to meet these requirements. We can also perform 3rd party verification audits to validate that a company does indeed have a 'verifiable recordkeeping audit trail', as required.

Requirements under the COOL act

The regulation requires retailers to inform consumers of the country of origin of the covered commodities. The law defines the terms "retailer" as having the meanings given those terms in section 1(b) of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act of 1930 (PACA)(7 U.S.C. 499 et seq.). This definition excludes butcher shops, fish markets, exporters and food service establishment. The country of origin information can be provide by means of a label, stamp, mark, placard or other clear and visible sign either on the commodity or on the package, display, holding unit or bin containing the product at the point of consumer sale. For fish and shellfish, the method of production, i.e. whether the product is wild or farmed, is also required. Processed food items are exempted from the COOL act. The IFR defines a processed food item as a retail item derived from fish or shellfish that has undergone specific processing resulting in a change in the character of the covered commodity, or that has been combined with at least one other covered commodity or other substantive food component. Specific processing that results in a change in the character of the covered commodity includes cooking (e.g., frying, broiling, grilling, boiling, steaming, baking, roasting), curing (e.g., salt curing, sugar curing, drying), smoking (hot or cold), and restructuring (e.g., emulsifying and extruding, compressing into blocks and cutting into portions). Examples of items excluded include fish sticks, surimi, mussels in tomato sauce, seafood medley, coconut shrimp, soups, stews, and chowders, sauces, pates, salmon that has been smoked, marinated fish fillets, canned tuna, canned sardines, canned salmon, crab salad, shrimp cocktail, gefilte fish, sushi, and breaded shrimp.

The law sets for specific requirements in order for a product to bear a U.S. country of origin label. For wild fish, they must be from fish or shellfish harvested in the waters of the United States, and that has not undergone a substantial transformation (as established by U.S. Customs and Border Protection) outside of the United States. Farm raised must be from fish or shellfish hatched, raised, harvested, and processed in the United States, and that has not undergone a substantial transformation (as established by U.S. Customs and Border Protection) outside of the United States.

The act requires any person engaged in the business of supplying a covered commodity to a retailer, whether directly or indirectly, to maintain records to establish and identify the immediate previous source (if applicable) and immediate subsequent recipient of a covered commodity, in such a way that identifies the product unique to that transaction for a period of 1 year from the date of the transaction. For retailers, records and other documentary evidence relied upon at the point of sale by the retailer to establish a product's country(ies) of origin and method(s) of production (wild and/or farm-raised) must be available during normal business hours to any duly authorized representatives of USDA for as long as the product is on hand. In addition, the law states the Secretary of Agriculture may require that any person that prepares, stores, handles, or distributes a covered commodity for retail sale maintain a verifiable recordkeeping audit trail, although the law does not require third-party audits of any party subject to these regulations. However, the law does not prohibit any party subject to this regulation from requiring a third-party audit of another party as part of their contractual arrangement if they so choose.