Looking COOL In ’08
September 1, 2007 With all the excitement surrounding the fact that fruit and vegetable crops were recognized for the first time in the Farm Bill passed by the House of Representatives in late July, Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) didn’t get much attention. But if the Farm Bill has similar language on COOL as it passes the Senate, and avoids a veto from President Bush, it will get plenty of attention when the September 2008 implementation date comes around.
COOL was originally authored by Rep. Mary Bono, whose district covers California’s Coachella Valley. A lot of table grapes are harvested there in the spring at the same time they are harvested in Mexico, and the California growers were keenly interested in letting consumers know that their grapes were made in the good ‘ol USA. Though it became law in 2002, COOL floundered as grocery chains and others complained that its implementation was too onerous.
To resolve the complaints, prior to the recent passage of the Farm Bill by the House, representatives of the meat, produce, and retail industries negotiated a series of compromises with consumer and farm groups. The changes include:
• Significantly reduced penalties for mistakes in labeling at the point of purchase, including a “good faith” standard that reduces the liability for retailers unless shown to be disregarding or willfully violating the law.
• Retailers would not be liable for misinformation provided by suppliers, which should eliminate the need for retailers to audit their suppliers to ensure compliance.
• No new record-keeping will be required. Normal records kept in the regular course of doing business are sufficient to comply with the law.
• A specific provision to allow labeling of a U.S. state, region, or locality in which a product is produced to meet label standards as a product of the U.S.
Food Safety Fears
If the changes are passed by Congress and signed by President Bush, the next step, according to the United Fresh Produce Association, will be to focus on the regulatory process at USDA as the department develops the “rules of the road” to implement COOL. United Fresh will be working to ensure that the practical application of the law provides useful information to consumers with minimal cost and negative impact on the total produce supply chain.
The compromise on COOL may have never made it out of the House except for all the food safety news of the last year. First there was the outcry over contaminated pet food ingredients coming from China. That was followed by reports that the FDA is inspecting only about 1% of imported food. Recent polls have shown that as many as 80% of Americans favor country of origin labels on food.
Carbon Footprint
The poll results come as no surprise to people like Pam Marrone, who is the chief executive officer of Marrone Organic Solutions in Davis, CA. Marrone said she recently sent her husband to the grocery store. When he returned, she said she was amazed to find he had bought organic garlic that was grown in China. She contacted both the large supermarket chain, as well as growers to see why Chinese garlic was sold in the store, and was told that the chain needed a year-round supply. That didn’t make a lot of sense to Marrone, as China isn’t located in the southern hemisphere.
To be fair, she noted that California growers, who grow the lion’s share of the U.S. garlic, have wrestled with white rot and other problems that have limited production. But she thinks it’s really just a matter of cost. And that, she said, doesn’t make a great deal of sense. “Do customers really care if their garlic is 10¢ a bulb cheaper?” she asked. “I think they would choose the California garlic over the Chinese garlic.”
Mike Beevers, the CEO of California Agricultural Research, agreed. He said that while many people buy organic food because they believe it’s healthier, there are those who do it because they believe that it is more earth-friendly. He also said that as more people become aware of the trendy new concept of the “carbon footprint,” which basically means how much carbon dioxide a person is responsible for emitting, COOL will become even more important. “If you’re going to the trouble of buying organic food,” he said, “you’d think you’d be concerned about the environment.”
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