Funding bill sets meat-origin labeling for 2008
US - U.S. grocers and foodmakers would be required to put country-of-origin labels on cuts of red meat beginning September 30, 2008, under a bill approved by a House Appropriations subcommittee on Thursday.
13 July 2007
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The bill lays out a timeline, beginning in January, to implement the requirement on the first possible day after two postponements of the 2002 law. Rep. Ray LaHood said during the subcommittee's meeting he may propose another delay.
Labeling is voluntary now for red meat but mandatory for seafood. The law does not cover poultry and meat served in restaurants.
The Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture included the timeline in a fiscal 2008 funding bill for the Agriculture Department. The bill may be called for a floor vote before the House adjourns for the August recess.
"We're trying to get to a consensus for implementation of COOL," said subcommittee chairwoman Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat. She told reporters the timeline would accommodate ongoing efforts by livestock and foodmaker groups to agree on a workable set of regulations for mandatory labeling.
