COOL seen as hindrance to Canadian swine producers

The US Mandatory Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) has not only increased cost for Canadian swine producers but also raised questions, said Brad Magnusson, an agricultural consultant with the Credit Union Central of Manitoba.

New labelling rules came into effect in the U.S. requiring retailers to identify the nation of origin of a range of products including fresh pork effective from September 30. 

Already, several American pork processors have stopped processing Canadian hogs.

According to Magnusson, questions uppermost on minds of Canadian swine producers are:  How is the meat is going to be graded, and how is the meat going to flow through the production chain from the Manitoba producer to the feeder to the slaughter plant and finally to the market.

On costs, Magnusson said it is unclear if the COOL labelling will bring prices up or down for consumers.