Funding bill sets meat-origin labeling for 2008

By Charles Abbott

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. grocers and foodmakers would be required to put country-of-origin labels on cuts of red meat beginning September 30, 2008, under a bill approved by a House Appropriations subcommittee on Thursday.

The bill lays out a timeline, beginning in January, to implement the requirement on the first possible day after two postponements of the 2002 law. Rep. Ray LaHood said during the subcommittee's meeting he may propose another delay.

Labeling is voluntary now for red meat but mandatory for seafood. The law does not cover poultry and meat served in restaurants.

The Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture included the timeline in a fiscal 2008 funding bill for the Agriculture Department. The bill may be called for a floor vote before the House adjourns for the August recess.

"We're trying to get to a consensus for implementation of COOL," said subcommittee chairwoman Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat. She told reporters the timeline would accommodate ongoing efforts by livestock and foodmaker groups to agree on a workable set of regulations for mandatory labeling.

Consumer groups say shoppers have a right to know who produced the meat they eat. Some farm groups say the labels will distinguish U.S. meat from imports on grocery shelves. Foes say it will be a costly headache to trace every piece of red meat from packing plant to grocery shelf.

An Illinois Republican, LaHood said more time was needed for the food industry to adopt full-scale labeling of red meat cuts. Mandatory labeling will create "a whole new bureaucracy," he said. He said he believed labeling should remain voluntary.

"I think it's too fast ... it's going to cause a lot of heartburn," LaHood said of the fall 2008 target.

Under the timeline in the bill, USDA would publish a revised set of labeling regulations by January 17, 2008, and allow 60 days for comment on them. The final rule would be issued by July 19, 2008, with implementation on September 30.

Also in the subcommittee bill, DeLauro said, were provisions to bar USDA from expanding its "risk-based inspection" plan for meat processing plants and to block imports of processed chicken raised in China.