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Consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch is dissatisfied with the
definition for which foods are “processed” – a broad definition that
includes and therefore exempts from labeling over 60 percent of pork,
the majority of frozen vegetables, an estimated 95 percent of peanuts,
pecans, and macadamia nuts, and multi-ingredient fresh produce items
such as fruit salads and salad mixes.
“USDA has created a
loophole that allows far too much food to go unlabeled,” stated Hauter.
“Apparently, USDA wants us to believe that food processors can identify
the origin of nuts when they are raw, but forget where they are from as
soon as they roast them.”
In addition to the loophole for foods
that are roasted, smoked, or cured, USDA’s interim final rule also
exempts from labeling any product that contains two covered ommodities, such as a bag of frozen peas and carrots or a salad mix
that contains lettuce and carrots.
“While we’re pleased that
COOL has finally taken effect, USDA needs to go further to let
consumers know where there food is coming from,” concluded Hauter. “We
encourage consumers to look for country-of-origin labels at the grocery
store and if you don’t see them, tell the store manager you want to
know where your food comes from.”
To view the Food & Water Watch letter to USDA, please visit https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/press/cool-final-interim-rule-letter-USDA
Food
& Water Watch is a nonprofit consumer rights organization based in
Washington, D.C. that challenges the corporate control and abuse of our
food and water resources. Visit www.foodandwaterwatch.org.
First of all, what is covered by the COOL regulations?
Seafood has been covered since 2005. Now beef, poultry, lamb, goat,
some nuts (peanuts, pecans, and macadamias), fresh and some frozen
fruits and vegetables, and ginseng have to be labeled with their
country of origin. This requirement applies to retailers (grocery
stores.) The labeling is not required at restaurants or specialty
markets (like fish markets, butcher shops, or roadside stands).
So for foods that are covered, what are the loopholes?
The rules for COOL exempt “processed” versions of the foods that are
covered by the law. And unfortunately, USDA defined the word
“processed” in the broadest way they could, so that the maximum amount
of food is exempted from labeling. The rules now exempt things that are:
• Cooked, roasted, smoked, or cured.
• Combined with one other ingredient.
So what does this mean at the store?
Well, while nuts are covered by the law, most nuts sold in grocery
stores are roasted, so they won’t be labeled. Raw seafood requires a
label, but if it is cooked or smoked, no label. The same goes for meat,
so a lot of product in the pork section of the meat case is exempt
because it is smoked or cured. And it’s not just meat. The rule that
adding one ingredient exempts products from labeling means that lots of
frozen vegetables (think peas and carrots) and salad mixes don’t have
to be labeled.
How can meat be the product of more than one country?
You are likely to see something in the meat case labeled as “product of
U.S., Mexico, and Canada” or some other combination that lists more
than one place. How can a cow or a pig be from more than one country?
Well, there are a couple scenarios. One is that the animal was born in
one country, but entered another country to be raised or slaughtered.
Another is that a package of ground meat might contain parts of
multiple animals–and those animals might be from different countries.
Ugly Meat
How to handle these “multi-country” labels has been controversial, and
not surprisingly, the USDA is letting the meat packers take advantage
of the situation. Some companies are using these multi-country (or
“North American”) labels on product that is actually from animals that
were born, raised, and slaughtered in the United States. Why would they
pass up the chance to sell something as a “product of the U.S.”? We’re
not sure, but lots of farming and ranching groups think it is to keep
from having to pay them more for animals that are eligible for a U.S.
label.
What You Can Do
• Use the labeling that is showing up in stores. You should see
labeling of beef (including ground beef), chicken, fish and fresh
fruits and veggies soon.
• Tell your store they should label as much food with its country of
origin as possible. The new rule from USDA is the minimum that’s
required–not the limit. Tell the meat manager, the produce manager, and
anybody else you can find that you want to see meat that’s a product of
the United States, frozen vegetable and salad mixes with labels, and
bacon and other pork products labeled too. These stores can force their
suppliers to do this labeling, even if USDA won’t.
• Take action: While the new labeling requirement is a great victory,
the USDA’s plan includes broad exemptions for “processed” foods,
minimally processed foods such as roasted nuts, frozen vegetables, and
smoked bacon–all of which will not have to be labeled with their
country of origin. Tell the USDA to fix the rules for COOL!
• Find out how much labels really tell you.
Get help with Food & Water Watch’s other consumer tools.
Food & Water Watch is an organization dedicated to the belief
that the public should be able to count on our government to oversee
and protect the quality and safety of food and water. For more
information, go to www.foodandwaterwatch.org.
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