Country-of-Origin Labeling

Some customers want country of origin labeling (COOL) for food so they can support domestic farmers and producers, or because they want to minimize the “food miles” their groceries travel. Others want COOL out of concerns about pesticide and other residues on imported fruits and vegetables, or mad cow disease.

For examples of rules that promote your state's agricultural economy, see State-of-Origin Rules

RULES

• Country of Origin Labeling - Federal
  On May 13, 2002, President Bush signed into law the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, more commonly known as the 2002 Farm Bill. More...
• Country-of-origin Labeling - Florida
  All producers, growers, and shippers of fresh fruits and vegetables and bee pollen and honey in Florida shall be permitted to mark each package to indicate to an ultimate purchaser that the product was produced in Florida. More...
• Country-of-origin Labeling - Idaho
  The Idaho labeling statute requires all foreign meat, poultry, eggs and butter to be marked with the country of origin. While the law has been on the books since 1965, it is currently not enforced by the Idaho Department of Agriculture. More...
• Country-of-origin Labeling - Maine
  The original Maine country-of-origin law passed in 1989 and required labeling of fresh produce "in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of Maine citizens from the dangers of pesticides used or applied in a manner or at a rate disallowed in the United States". More...
• Country-of-origin Labeling - Mississippi
  Mandates "Country of Origin" labeling on beef products sold in retail stores. The labeling will provide three distinctions for labeling retail beef products: "American," "Imported," and "Blend." More...
• Country-of-origin Labeling - Montana
  A law requiring retailers to label meat with country-of-origin, and creating a "Made in Montana" program. More...
• Country-of-origin Labeling - European Union Law
  Since 2000, Member states have to indicate on the label, down to the retail level, the country of slaughter, country of cutting/deboning, the reference code of the animal and its category. The second stage, which took effect January 1, 2002, requires member states to indicate the country of birth, fattening and slaughter. More...

• Labeling of Genetically Engineered Fish - Alaska
  In 2005 Alaska enacted legislation that requires the labeling of all products containing genetically engineered fish and shell fish. Senate bill 25, which introduced the legislation states that all genetically engineered fish will be "conspicuously labeled to identify the fish or fish product as a genetically modified fish or fish product," whether packaged or unpackaged.  The law is intended to protect the state’s fishing industry. More...

More:

• USDA's Country of Origin Labeling Implementation Web Site
• Western Organization of Resource Councils