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At first glance, cattle producers pleased with Interim COOL RuleR-CALF USA was pleased to see in the new Interim Final Rule for mandatory country-of-origin labeling, that, at a glance, the U.S. Department of Agriculture presented, for the most part, a simplified and workable rule for independent U.S. cattle producers. "USDA did a rather straightforward job in writing these rules," said R-CALF USA COOL Committee Chair Mike Schultz. "The agency accepted R-CALF USA's and other groups' recommendation to simplify the implementation process by adopting the steps it originally incorporated in the fish and shellfish rules. "For the most part, USDA properly adopted the legislative language that minimizes requirements on producers and other suppliers by allowing them to use their own affidavits to prove an animal's origin, and the rule allows meatpackers to use foreign import markings to verify animals of foreign origin, such as ear tags and brands on cattle from Mexico and Canada," he continued. Schultz also said that USDA requires every person in the supply chain to maintain COOL records for one year, for one step forward and one step back in the supply chain. "For instance, a cow/calf producer would need to maintain records of who they sold their cattle to, and that person would need to keep records about who he or she purchased the cattle from and then who he or she sold them to," Schultz explained. "That way, if needed, origins can be traced throughout the supply chain." The rule is expected to be published in the Aug. 1 Federal Register, and the public will have 60 days from the date of publication to submit comments to the agency. "R-CALF USA continues to review the 233-page rule and will make recommendations to the agency if it finds areas within the rule that require additional clarification or modification in order to ensure the orderly implementation of COOL," Schultz concluded. 9/1/08 Date: 8/22/08
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