WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Tuesday issued an interim final rule for a mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) program that will be effective on Sept 30.
The rule covers muscle cuts and ground beef (including veal), lamb, chicken, goat, and pork; perishable agricultural commodities; macadamia nuts; pecans; ginseng; and peanuts as required by the 2002 and 2008 Farm Bills. USDA implemented the COOL program for fish and shellfish covered commodities in October 2004.