November 25 , 2002

Country of Origin Labeling Price Tag: $2 Billion

The cost of the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) provision of the new farm bill is estimated at $2 billion, according to the USDA, assuming all who can participate do participate in the voluntary program, reports DTN. The USDA's marketing service released cost estimates which are based on the record-keeping requirements necessary to accurately label which foods were
produced outside the United States. "In general, under the voluntary program, the information collected will be used by industry personnel," stated the USDA in Friday's Federal Register. "It will be created, maintained, and/or submitted by producers, importers, handlers, and retailers. Additionally, it will necessitate that all of these entities have record keeping procedures in place." In addition, USDA stated "One major estimate made about each entity is the number of entities likely to participate in this voluntary program. Because the agency has no basis to determine the level of participation in this program, it has estimated that all industry members that could be affected by the mandatory program will participate in the voluntary program." That estimation by USDA is where that sizable price tag for implementing the COOL program comes from. The USDA estimated there are about 2 million commercial farms, ranches and fishermen in the United States. Industry sources say a lot of analysts believe country-of-origin labeling is unnecessary, because a lot of people don't care where the meat they consume is from.

 

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