A lawsuit to block the implementation of the newest version of country-of-origin labelling has been filed in a U.S. court.
Eight groups representing packers and livestock organizations have joined the challenge, arguing the amendment released May 23 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is unconstitutional and should be stopped.
The suit was filed July 9 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The plaintiffs include the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, the American Association of Meat Processors, the American Meat Institute, the Canadian Pork Council, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the National Pork Producers Council, the North American Meat Association and the Southwest Meat Association.
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The United States government first implemented COOL in 2009. Last year, the World Trade Organization ruled it discriminated against Canadian and Mexican livestock exported to the U.S.
The USDA rewrote the rule and released a new version similar to a law proposed in 2002, which requires even more tracking and labelling. All muscle cuts sold at retail must now declare the country of origin regarding three production steps: born, raised and slaughtered.
“Sorting and tracking livestock and labelling meat by the various routes that livestock may take on the way to market is needlessly complex with no measurable benefits,” said Mark Dopp of the American Meat Institute, which represents packers and processors.
The Canadian industry claims that hog and cattle exports have dropped by nearly half since COOL was implemented. Total estimated damages due to price declines, lost sales and added costs to the Canadian livestock sector have exceeded $1 billion per year.
