Issues: Country of Origin Labeling

On August 1, 2008, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued an interim final rule for mandatory country of origin labeling, the implementation date for which remains September 30, 2008. USDA sought industry comment on the COOL IFR, and PMA submitted comments on September 17, 2008.

To help its members better understand the COOL interim final rule, PMA has prepared an analysis of the regulation. It is provided in both HTML and PDF formats below.

PMA Member Country of Origin Labeling Resources

New! USDA's Frequently Asked Questions about COOL presented during PMA's Fresh Summit 2008 - October 24, 2008
New! "What's Hot with COOL" workshop presentation - October 24, 2008
PMA Comments to USDA on Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling - September 17, 2008
PMA and WGA Country of Origin Labeling Task Force Revised Best Practices (Tambien en Espanol)- September 4, 2008
PMA Analysis of Interim Final Rule for Mandatory COOL - August 1, 2008 (PDF version)
USDA Issues Interim Final Rule for Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling - July 29, 2008

Webinars and Ask the Expert Transcripts

PMA and Western Growers held two Webinars this year on COOL. The most recent, on August 6, focused on the COOL interim final rule from USDA. The first, held June 24, focused on the PMA-WG COOL Best Practices.

August 8, 2008 Recorded Webinar: COOL Regulations Are Here: We'll Get You Ready
COOL Webinar Q&A: Cut, Blended, Processed, Mixed, Commingled Product Scenarios
COOL Webinar Q&A: Supplier-level COOL Packaging/Labeling Scenarios
COOL Webinar Q&A: Retail-level COOL Packaging/Labeling Scenarios
COOL Webinar Q&A: Recordkeeping Scenarios
COOL Webinar Q&A: Fruit Baskets, Nuts, Dried Fruits and Vegetables, Floral products, Herbs, Frozen Fruits and Vegetables

June 24, 2008 Recorded Webinar: COOL Is Coming September 30th: Be Prepared With Best Practices
June 18, 2008 Transcript: PMA Web Briefing on COOL from Vice President of Government Relations Kathy Means

Industry Country of Origin Labeling Resources

Additional Resources

Ask Dr. Bob audio blog, where we post periodic audio briefings on topics of interest to our members.