United on COOL

From United Fresh last night:



Interim Final Rule Issued for Country of Origin Labeling
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued an Interim Final Rule to implement mandatory country-of-origin labeling this fall. The rule will be published in the Federal Register on August 1.
United Fresh Produce staff and outside legal experts are now reviewing the 220-page publication, and will soon issue guidance for the industry in complying with the new regulations. In addition, we are joining with the Food Marketing Institute and American Meat Institute to provide three workshops across the country August 12 in Baltimore, August 13 in Chicago, and August 14 in San Jose for an in-person discussion with USDA officials, industry experts, and most importantly, your supply chain partners from suppliers to retailers. These workshops are your only opportunity to meet with suppliers and customers together to address the challenges of implementing COOL most efficiently. You can learn more or register now by clicking on the location of your choice:
Baltimore August 12
Chicago August 13
San Jose August 14
In addition, a future webcast is being scheduled together with other produce industry partners to address these important new regulations.
All participants in either the supply chain workshops August 12-14 or subsequent COOL webcasts will receive a free copy of United's Compliance Guide to Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling to be updated based on these new regulations.
For questions about COOL or the upcoming workshops, please contact Andrew Marshall at amarshall@unitedfresh.org, or 202/303-3407.