COOL rising

Country of origin labeling is rearing its head again, and here is coverage from Florida that shows advocates haven't lost their zeal. Meanwhile, here is the FMI salvo on COOL issue released March 1. Here is Reuters coverage detailing efforts by COOL backers to get Congress to move up the deadline to this year.
From the Palm Beach Post:

Congress has repeatedly pushed back the implementation deadline for a national law that would require food to carry a label declaring its country of origin.
"It's high time for it to happen," said Emily Eisenberg, a spokeswoman for the Washington-based National Farmers Union. "We think now we have a chance to get this moving."
Only seafood is now required to carry a country-of-origin label.
In late January, legislation to move the deadline to September 2007 from September 2008 was introduced in Congress. The National Farmers Union has organized a coalition of close to 200 organizations that support the legislation and date change.

The FMI issued a news release that took to task the seafood origin law, stating it hasn't increased sales of U.S. seafood and it has cost 10 times more than the USDA estimated.

Meanwhile, the FMI warned of high costs of implementing mandatory COOL. From the FMI news release:

The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) presented comments to USDA this week in response to the agency’s request for cost and benefit information (on seafood labeling).
“The industry’s experience underscores the need to replace the law with a flexible, industry-led program that would be far less costly and provide information that would actually resonate with consumers, such as ‘Wild Alaskan Salmon, ‘Georgia Peaches’ or Vidalia Onions,’” said FMI President and CEO Tim Hammonds.

Hammonds said the retail cost per store to implement COOL for seafood was projected by the USDA at $1,530, but the real cost ranged from $9,000 to $16,000. The cost of implementing COOL for seafood suppliers was projected by the USDA at $1,890, but the FMI said the real cost was $200,000 to $250,000.

The food industry has proposed an effective, flexible labeling model that would communicate the same information in ways consumers would actually find useful without driving costs sky high. “It is time for Congress to correct its mistake and let the industry implement a plan that delivers more without building in the excessive costs that ultimately discourage consumers from buying the seafood we all want to promote. Food retailers are not opposed to providing consumers with country of origin information. We are opposed to doing it with a government program that drives the cost of food unnecessarily high,” Hammonds said.

TK: COOL backers say "it is high time" for mandatory origin labeling and FMI is saying "it is time" for a voluntary solution. They are both right; it is past time to deal with this issue once and for all