Thoughts on Country of Origin Labeling

Phil,

I work for a major food company and am responsible for the labeling from a regulatory perspective. Frankly, the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) regulation makes no sense and would be extremely expensive and burdensome to food companies. For example, not all foods would be regulated. You could buy bacon that would have a label but the bread wouldn't. Cheese wouldn't but hamburger would. If the reasons claimed by advocates were legitimate, then they would want all food labeled. Also, many foods are a mixture of products from several countries. A pound of hamburger could be a combination of beef from Canada, US and Mexico. The amount has to be listed in descending order on the label. Imagine the nightmare of having labels available for the many possibilities.

In truth, a small group of very vocal special interests convinced Washington that COOL is good. Hopefully, now that Congress is taking a second look, they will realize that these labels serve no real purpose and will not allow USDA to implement the rules.

Penny H.