Regulation: August 2008 Archives

In the 2002 Farm Bill, the United States introduced country-of-origin labeling (COOL) for various commodities. COOL implementation has twice been delayed, but it will now come into effect on September 30, 2008 based on the revisions outlined in the 2008 Farm Bill. The U.S. government argues that COOL will deal with unfair competition, enhance food security, and address information gaps that consumers have about food (Library of Parliament 2003). However, the list of exemptions for the so-called mandatory regulation results in a great deal of food not having to carry country-of-origin labeling.