Cattle Industry COOL Summit

Proposed COOL Rule:  Understanding Producer Responsibilities

Sponsored by R-CALF USA
10:00 a.m., MT, November 18, 2003
Red Lion Hotel Denver Central 
Revised November 19, 2003

What are the Record Keeping Requirements for Domestic Live Cattle Producers under the   Rule?

“The proposed rule does not require specific types of recordkeeping systems.  Thus, retailers and suppliers of covered commodities will be able to develop their own least-cost systems to implement COOL requirements.” (Page 61954)  “The proposed rule allows industry participants to determine the recordkeeping and information transfer mechanisms needed for compliance.” (Page 61957)

However, the Rule authorizes meat packers to possess or have legal access to producer records.  The Rule states:  “Producers of cattle, hogs, and sheep, while not directly covered by this rule will nevertheless be impacted because covered meat commodities are produced from livestock.  Whether directly or indirectly impacted, these producers will more than likely be required by handlers and wholesalers to create and maintain country of origin information and transfer it to them so that they can readily transfer this information to retailers.” (Page 61976)

The Rule states that for the cattle industry, the meat packer is the initiator of a country of origin claim.  The Rule requires that the meat packing facility “must possess or have legal access to records that substantiate that claim.”  (Page 61984)

The USDA states that “the proposed rule is a performance standard rather than a design standard.” (Page 61977)

What type of Producer Records Must Packers Possess and have Access to?

1.  “Records and other documentary evidence that will permit substantiation of an origin claim”  (Page 61984)
2. “Various forms of documentation and records will be acceptable provided the chain of custody of the covered commodity can be determined and the origin claims . . . substantiated.”  (Page 61984)
3. “All records must be legible and written in English and may be maintained in either electronic or hard copy formats.”  (Page 61984)
4. “Records must be made available to USDA “in a timely manner during normal hours of business and at a location that is reasonable in consideration of the products and firms under review.” (Page 61984)

What Information is Required of Producers?

1. USDA states that the records needed to substantiate the born, raised, and slaughtered information can only be created by persons having first-hand knowledge of the country designation for each production step declared in the country of origin claim.  “Thus, livestock producers will need to create and/or maintain these records to enable retail suppliers to provide retailers with correct country of origin information.” (Page 61945)
2. “Country of origin information will need to be maintained on animals as they move through their lifecycle.” (Page 61979)
3. Backgrounders, stockers and feeders “will need to track country of origin information for animals brought into the operation as well as for animals sold from the operation.” (Page 61979)

Do the Rules State How Cattle are to be Tracked Through their Lifecycles?

The Rules provide that recordkeeping, ear tagging, segregation, and related means of maintaining origin identity may be done on either an individual animal or lot basis.  (Page 61963)

In addition, the Rule states that backgrounders, stockers, and feeders likely will need to track origin information on cattle from multiple sources.  “Animal identification tags, development of data bases, and additional hardware for accounting and tracking likely will be required for many operations, particularly larger operations, to maintain country of origin information.”  (Pages 61965-61965)

Can Existing Producer Records be used to Substantiate Origin Claims?

It appears so but, for producers, the final decision appears to be left to the meat packers.   The Rule states:  “USDA believes that implementation costs per head for cow-calf producers will be relatively small because many cow-calf operators likely already maintain much of the information that will be needed to substantiate country of origin, such as breeding records, production records, and other business records.”  (Page 61964)

USDA has provided examples of records that may be useful to verify compliance with COOL.  A copy is attached.

“USDA believes that most producers currently maintain many of the types of records that would be needed to substantiate country of origin claims.  However, producers do not typically record or pass along country of origin information to subsequent purchasers.”  (Pate 61978)

Do the Rules Require a Traceback System to Individual Animals?

The Rule states:  “While USDA expects some firms to adopt such a system, we do not believe that a full traceback system on an individual animal basis will be required to implement the proposed rule.  Other less costly approaches likely will meet the requirements of the proposed rule.  For example, group identification of animals . . . may suffice to establish country of origin claims.”  (Page 61962)

Can Self Certification be used to Document Origins?

The Rule states:  “USDA believes that some type of certification could be used as a means to transfer country of origin information from one level of the supply chain to the next, but such certification would need to be supported by adequate documentation to verify country of origin claims.”  (Page 61954)

The Rule further states:  “Suppliers could be required [by the retailer] to provide an affidavit for each transaction . . . certifying that country of origin claims . . . being made are truthful and that required records are being maintained.” (Page 61954)  

Does the Rule Limit the Type of Information or Documentation Meat Packers May Require from Producers or Otherwise Limit what Meat Packers can Demand of Producers?

No.  At least one packer is already demanding that cattle producers indemnify them from liability as well as requiring producers to obtain third-party verification for origin claims. 

Who Will Enforce the Record Keeping Requirements?

USDA interprets its Rule to mean:  “Only USDA will be able to initiate enforcement actions against a person in violation of the law.” (Page 61952)  However, it appears that meat packers can choose whether or not to accept a producer’s records before a sales transaction and, therefore, can potentially use this “power” to gain an advantage over producers in price negotiations.

“The proposed rule has no requirements for firms to report to USDA.  Compliance audits will be conducted by USDA at firms’ places of business.”  (Page 61977)’

Are Producers Liable for mislabeling or incomplete documentation?

This is subject to a legal interpretation but it appears so.  USDA states that existing federal statutes prohibit labeling that is false and misleading.  “Thus, inaccurate country of origin labeling of covered commodities may lead to additional penalties under these statutes as well.” (Page 61952)

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                            This page was last updated on Wednesday, October 12, 2011.