[Federal Register: December 28, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 248)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 77609]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28de04-1]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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[[Page 77609]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 60
[No. LS-03-04]
RIN 0581-AC26
Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling of Fish and Shellfish
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Interim final rule; extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: On October 5, 2004, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)
published an interim final rule (69 FR 59708) for the mandatory country
of origin labeling (COOL) program for fish and shellfish as mandated by
the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Farm Bill) and the
2002 Supplemental Appropriations Act (Appropriations Act), which
amended the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (Act) to direct the
Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate regulations by September 30,
2004, requiring retailers to notify their customers of the country of
origin of covered commodities. The FY 2004 Consolidated Appropriations
Act (Public Law 108-199) delayed the applicability of mandatory COOL
for all covered commodities except wild and farm-raised fish and
shellfish until September 30, 2006. AMS is extending the comment period
to February 2, 2005, at the request of industry trade associations to
provide interested parties with additional time to file comments.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before February 2, 2005, to be
assured of consideration.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Country of Origin Labeling
Program, Room 2092-S; Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), USDA; STOP
0249; 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-0249, or by
facsimile to (202) 720-3499, or by e-mail to cool@usda.gov. Comments
received will be posted to the AMS Web site at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/cool/.
Comments sent to the above location that
specifically pertain to the information collection and recordkeeping
requirements should also be sent to the Desk Officer for Agriculture,
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget (OMB), New Executive Office Building, 725 17th Street, NW., Room
725, Washington, DC 20503.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Sessions, Associate Deputy
Administrator, Livestock and Seed Program, AMS, USDA, by telephone on
(202) 720-5707, or via e-mail to: william.sessions@usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Farm Bill and the Appropriations Act
amended the Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate
regulations by September 30, 2004, requiring retailers to notify their
customers of the country of origin of covered commodities. The FY 2004
Consolidated Appropriations Act (Public Law 108-199) delayed the
applicability of mandatory COOL for all covered commodities except wild
and farm-raised fish and shellfish until September 30, 2006.
On October 5, 2004, AMS published an interim final rule (69 FR
59708) for the mandatory country of origin labeling program for fish
and shellfish. The comment period was originally scheduled to end on
January 3, 2005. However, two industry trade organizations have
requested additional time for retailers to examine their systems in
light of the requirements of the interim final rule in order to provide
more meaningful comments. Further, the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) recently published the final rule to implement the Bioterrorism
Act's recordkeeping requirements and more time is needed for the
industry to compare the FDA regulation recordkeeping requirements with
the recordkeeping requirements under the COOL interim final rule.
Therefore, AMS has determined that there is sufficient justification
for extending the comment period 30 days until February 2, 2005.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.
Dated: December 22, 2004.
A.J. Yates,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 04-28349 Filed 12-27-04; 8:45 am]
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