08/02/07 Italian COOL

Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling is heating up again and not just in our country. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be back in one minute to tell you why. Country of Origin Labeling for meat, fruit and vegetables should have been implemented long ago, but lobbyists for grocery store chains and big meat packing companies have been able to find enough votes to delay the start for five years. These opponents argue COOL would make it too difficult to label products as to origin and too costly to comply with the rules of COOL. Too difficult? I know of an apple packing company that puts their name sticker on every apple that leaves the plant for retail sale. A consumer reports survey shows 92 percent of consumers want to know where their food comes from so I think they would be willing to pay the additional cost of that information. Well, tainted Chinese products and a new Congress has resulted in COOL getting a lot of attention lately. But, even in other countries like Italy, farmers want to see Country of Original Labeling implemented. Why? It's because China is importing large amounts of cheap imports that hurt their bottom line. These imports are mixed with Italian-grown products and the food's identity as far as origin is lost. Tainted products from China are also a concern in Italy. It may be a world market these days but for whatever reasons Country of Origin Labeling is in demand. I'm Jeff Keane. Western Livestock Reporter 7/18/07