Tag teaming COOL

No one knows for sure what is going to happen with COOL, but at least we are all in it together. Here is a joint communication to membership from PMA and WGA:


DATE: April 2, 2008

TO: PMA and WGA Members

FROM: Bryan Silbermann, PMA President, BSilbermann@pma.com and Tom Nassif, WGA President, TNassif@wga.com

RE: Country of Origin Labeling

Our associations continue to receive many questions from members who are confused about the status of country of origin labeling (COOL) for produce, with respect to both the implementation date and the requirements.

The status and compliance requirements of COOL remain uncertain and so are unclear to buyers and sellers alike. Nonetheless, suppliers have received notices from retailers who expect them to comply with the current proposed rules even though the requirements:

• may still be changed by regulation
• are not currently enforceable, and
• may also be modified by favorable legislation now before Congress.

We are writing to ask for your patience as the legislative and regulatory process finds resolution before we needlessly add what may be unnecessary expenses that will filter through the entire supply chain. None of us wants to see unnecessary costs added at a time when all of us are already being impacted by multiple inflationary pressures.

With that in mind, we wanted to provide you with some background information to help clarify the current situation. Please understand that this overview is not intended as legal advice but rather as information designed to help you make fair and responsible business decisions.

How we got here
The 2002 Farm Bill included the requirement that the U.S. Department of Agriculture issue guidelines for country of origin labeling for fresh fruits and vegetables at retail point of sale.

After considering extensive comments from industry on the guidelines, the USDA issued a proposed rule for mandatory COOL in 2003. Industry again raised concerns about the scope and burden of the requirements in the proposed rule. These concerns resulted in delaying COOL implementation for produce to September 30, 2008.

As noted previously, as of April 2, COOL requirements have not been issued in final form and may be changed by the legislation now before Congress. The current USDA proposed rule is still just that – and therefore not legally enforceable. For more information on the specific provisions included in the proposed rule, please visit our web sites: PMA at www.pma.com/issues/labeling.cfm or WGA at www.wga.com.

So what happens next?
In view of the uncertainty at this time regarding the legislative and regulatory outcome, it is not the purpose of this letter to provide more detailed compliance advice to members. That will come later when we know what is required to comply with the final government directive.

PMA and WGA are forming a Task Force of our members to review whatever the final outcome of COOL is and to make recommendations to our members on a fair and responsible implementation process that serves the interests of the entire supply chain. Mike O'Brien of Schnuck Markets and Tom Deardorff, Deardorff Family Farms will co-chair the Task Force.

Our associations will continue to keep you updated on COOL's progress through the legislative and regulatory process. In the meanwhile, we once again ask for your patience and consideration of your business partners as you develop your decisions related to COOL.