AMS Removes Beef and Pork from COOL Regulations

Following Congress’s action late last year to repeal mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) for beef and pork, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today amended its COOL regulations to remove muscle cut beef and pork and ground beef and pork from the program. AMS’s action formally revokes the COOL requirements for beef and pork, and for those commodities only; COOL remains in place for the other “covered commodities,” including lamb, chicken, fish, peanuts, ginseng, pecans, and macadamia nuts.