US Bill shifts COOL costs
Rehberg bill could ease implementation of COOL
by Pete Hisey on 4/19/2005 for Meatingplace.com
A bill introduced by U.S. representative Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) would remove cattle from the so-called "J-list," or list of imported products that do not have to sport a mark of origin. If the exemption for cattle were removed, the action essentially would force the cost of country-of-origin legislation (COOL) onto exporters of cattle to the United States.
Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America, which supports mandatory COOL laws, lauded the bill, with President and Co-founder Leo McDonnell claiming that "USDA will immediately have the ability to verify the origins of all cattle at the packer-house gate, and it won't cost U.S. producers a dime."
However, there would be costs associated with segregating animals and adjusting processing protocols to apply COOL packaging to finished products, such as ground beef and meatloaf, that utilize byproducts of many different animals. The meat processing industry opposes COOL for that reason.
Rehberg bill could ease implementation of COOL
by Pete Hisey on 4/19/2005 for Meatingplace.com
A bill introduced by U.S. representative Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) would remove cattle from the so-called "J-list," or list of imported products that do not have to sport a mark of origin. If the exemption for cattle were removed, the action essentially would force the cost of country-of-origin legislation (COOL) onto exporters of cattle to the United States.
Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America, which supports mandatory COOL laws, lauded the bill, with President and Co-founder Leo McDonnell claiming that "USDA will immediately have the ability to verify the origins of all cattle at the packer-house gate, and it won't cost U.S. producers a dime."
However, there would be costs associated with segregating animals and adjusting processing protocols to apply COOL packaging to finished products, such as ground beef and meatloaf, that utilize byproducts of many different animals. The meat processing industry opposes COOL for that reason.
