March 22, 2007

Canada concerned over US plans for mandatory country of origin labeling
 

The Canadian Pork Council has expressed its concern over US mandatory on country of origin labeling for red meat products.

Introduced in the 2002 US Farm Bill, mandatory Country of Origin Labeling has been twice delayed by the US congress and Canadian Pork Council Executive Director Martin Rice says he, along with many observers, expect there will be any further delays and expect it to become mandatory by the end of September 2008.

The mandate, said Rice, will also pose a problem for North American hog and beef industries as it is going to have additional costs to the value chain for hog and cattle delivery due to a great deal of record keeping systems and cost monitoring.

He said people in the trade will be less interested in dealing with pork and beef because it will involve costs that they don't have with chicken and can even impose additional costs to consumers which could readily affect the supply chain.

Rice notes mandatory Country of Origin Labeling for fish and shell fish, which took effect a couple of years ago, has not increased the price or the consumption of those products but has simply been an additional burden that sector has had to carry.