The Senate Agriculture Committee hearing Wednesday on country-of-origin labeling (COOL) and trade retaliation got something new to chew on. On the eve of the first Senate action since the House of Representatives voted to repeal
Continue Reading Michigan Senator Offers Voluntary COOL Draft for Discussion Purposes
House Votes to Repeal Country-of-Origin Labeling for Meat
The House of Representatives has voted to repeal country-of-origin labeling (COOL) for beef, pork, and chicken. Texas Republican Rep. Michael Conaway’s Country of Origin Labeling Amendments Act of 2015 passed late Wednesday night by a
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WTO Rejects U.S. Appeal of COOL Ruling
The World Trade Organization has rejected a U.S. appeal of its decision that country-of-origin labeling (COOL) on meat unfairly discriminates against meat imports and give the advantage to domestic meat products. The final ruling launches
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USDA: COOL Not Much of an Economic Benefit for Consumers
Country-of-origin labeling (COOL) does not provide much in the way of “measurable economic benefits” for American consumers and costs producers, packers, and retailers in the United States $2.6 billion a year for all covered commodities,
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European Union Expands COOL Requirements Beyond Beef
Almost a decade after the first country-of-origin labeling (COOL) of beef was required in Europe, no packaged unprocessed meat product may now be legally sold in any European Union member country without a label stating
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Canadian BSE Case Demonstrates Need for COOL, Lobby Group Says
R-CALF USA, which represents the U.S. cattle industry in trade, marketing and private property rights issues, is pointing to a recent case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) — or, as it is commonly called, “mad
Continue Reading Canadian BSE Case Demonstrates Need for COOL, Lobby Group Says
Study Suggests Country-of-Origin Labeling Has Not Hurt U.S. Meat Imports
Mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) has not impaired meat exports to the U.S., says Auburn University professor Robert Taylor. In new analysis of COOL’s impact released Thursday, he wrote that, “COOL has not had a significant
Continue Reading Study Suggests Country-of-Origin Labeling Has Not Hurt U.S. Meat Imports
The Top 10 Food-Safety News Stories of 2014
The top 10 food-safety news stories for 2014, as chosen for the sixth consecutive year by the editors of Food Safety News, were announced today. According to the Internet news site, here are this year’s
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Vilsack: No Regulatory Fix for COOL
Last weekend, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack told the 2014 National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) convention that there is no regulatory fix for country-of-origin labeling (COOL). After the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) ruling in
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Industry Groups Ask Congress to Rescind Parts of COOL to Avoid Tariffs
In a letter to Congress on Thursday, numerous U.S. manufacturing and agricultural interests formally began a campaign to remove elements of the country of-origin labeling (COOL) laws which apply to muscle cuts of meat. 
They
Continue Reading Industry Groups Ask Congress to Rescind Parts of COOL to Avoid Tariffs