Wendy G. Neyland

Last week, we learned that COOL means "Country- Of-Origin-Labeling" to let us know from where our agricultural products come. It is important to note that this does not apply to foods prepared at restaurants or processed foods. Covered foods include: • Muscle Cuts of Beef (including veal), Pork, Lamb, Goat, and Chicken • Ground Beef, Ground Pork, Ground Lamb, Ground Goat, and Ground Chicken • Wild and Farm-Raised Fish and Shellfish • Perishable Agricultural Commodities (fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables) • Peanuts, Pecans, and Macadamia Nuts • Ginseng

The USDA says that it is ultimately the retailer's responsibility to provide country of origin information, so when you go to the grocery store, you should be able to find some sort of labeling that will let you know the country of origin for that agricultural product.

This week, I would like to share with you the labeling you might find on wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish, perishable agricultural commodities (fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables) and peanuts, pecans, macadamia nuts and ginseng.

For those fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, peanuts, pecans, macadamia nuts and ginseng, the origin declaration will be where the product is grown/harvested. State, regional, and locality may be used for the country of origin declaration. Examples include: Product of the U.S., Produce of the U.S., Grown in the U.S., or Country X.

Fish and shellfish labels will look a lot like those for meat, but there are a couple of differences since fish can swim virtually anywhere in the ocean.

* Product of the U.S.— covered farm-raised fish and shellfish that are hatched, raised, harvested, and processed in the United States or covered wild fish and shellfish harvested in waters of the United States or by a United States flagged vessel and processed in the United States and that have not undergone substantial transformation outside of the United States.

* Product of Country X—imported fish and shellfish that have not undergone substantial transformation in the United States as declared by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

* Product of Country X, Processed in the U.S.—imported fish and shellfish that have undergone substantial transformation in the United States.

* Fish and shellfish covered commodities must state the method of catch (wild or farm-raised) in addition to country of origin declarations.

You will be seeing these labels very soon if you haven't seen them already. The USDA made a final ruling on this issue this week and the final ruling takes effect March 16, 2009. Hopefully, you will be able to make a more educated decision in food selection and ultimately have more faith that the food you are buying is safe for you.