Is produce trade cool with COOL?
01 October 2008 12:18
Maura Maxwell
After six years of legal wrangling, country of origin labelling rules (COOL) came into force on 30 September. Although the new laws give retailers six months to label fresh fruits and vegetables and other perishable items, some are already on board. According to the New York Times, Wal-Mart planned to have many of the labels in place by the first week of October, if not soon thereafter. And a Kroger spokeswoman said the company expected to introduce the labels in the coming weeks as store employees and suppliers became familiar with the new law.
So what will the new laws mean for consumers? The greatest advantage of COOL is that it enables them to know exactly where their food comes from. This allows consumers to support domestic farmers, and helps them choose products that haven't been shipped thousands of miles across the world if they so wish. It also gives the public the option of shunning produce from particular countries that have been associated with health and safety scares. Consumers have a right to know where their food comes from and there's no doubt that providing them with as much information as possible helps them to make informed decisions about what to buy. The average American now consumes an estimated 260lbs of imported food every year, which is roughly 13 per cent of their diet.
The public is overwhelmingly in favor of the rule – a Consumer Reports survey last year found that 92 per cent of Americans agree imported foods should be labeled by their country of origin. Indeed, some consumer groups complain that the rules don't go far enough since the definition of what constitutes processed foods – which are exempt – is too broad. Mixed leaf salad bags or frozen mixed packs of carrots and peas, for example, do not have to be labelled.
Some, however, fear that COOL is no more than a thinly disguised trade barrier intended to increase importers' costs and create an unfounded perception that imports are inherently less safe than domestically-grown produce. And then there's the cost: the US Department of Agriculture estimates that it will cost US$2.5bn to implement the law.
On balance, COOL is a positive development for the fruit and vegetable industry, if nothing else because anything that improves record keeping – especially in light of recent food scares – has to be a welcome measure.
On a separate note, the October/November issue my last issue at the helm of Americafruit Magazine. My colleague Gill McShane, who takes over as the new editor, is eager to get stuck into her first issue and has bags of ideas on how to improve the magazine. Gill is a highly esteemed colleague at Market Intelligence with many years' experience in the fresh produce trade and I'm sure our readers will want to drop by our booth (3309) at the PMA Fresh Summit in Orlando to extend a warm welcome to her.
After six years of legal wrangling, country of origin labelling rules (COOL) came into force on 30 September. Although the new laws give retailers six months to label fresh fruits and vegetables and other perishable items, some are already on board. According to the New York Times, Wal-Mart planned to have many of the labels in place by the first week of October, if not soon thereafter. And a Kroger spokeswoman said the company expected to introduce the labels in the coming weeks as store employees and suppliers became familiar with the new law.
So what will the new laws mean for consumers? The greatest advantage of COOL is that it enables them to know exactly where their food comes from. This allows consumers to support domestic farmers, and helps them choose products that haven't been shipped thousands of miles across the world if they so wish. It also gives the public the option of shunning produce from particular countries that have been associated with health and safety scares. Consumers have a right to know where their food comes from and there's no doubt that providing them with as much information as possible helps them to make informed decisions about what to buy. The average American now consumes an estimated 260lbs of imported food every year, which is roughly 13 per cent of their diet.
The public is overwhelmingly in favor of the rule – a Consumer Reports survey last year found that 92 per cent of Americans agree imported foods should be labeled by their country of origin. Indeed, some consumer groups complain that the rules don't go far enough since the definition of what constitutes processed foods – which are exempt – is too broad. Mixed leaf salad bags or frozen mixed packs of carrots and peas, for example, do not have to be labelled.
Some, however, fear that COOL is no more than a thinly disguised trade barrier intended to increase importers' costs and create an unfounded perception that imports are inherently less safe than domestically-grown produce. And then there's the cost: the US Department of Agriculture estimates that it will cost US$2.5bn to implement the law.
On balance, COOL is a positive development for the fruit and vegetable industry, if nothing else because anything that improves record keeping – especially in light of recent food scares – has to be a welcome measure.
On a separate note, the October/November issue my last issue at the helm of Americafruit Magazine. My colleague Gill McShane, who takes over as the new editor, is eager to get stuck into her first issue and has bags of ideas on how to improve the magazine. Gill is a highly esteemed colleague at Market Intelligence with many years' experience in the fresh produce trade and I'm sure our readers will want to drop by our booth (3309) at the PMA Fresh Summit in Orlando to extend a warm welcome to her.
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