On the recordJune 10, 2015
As chairman of the Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee, I rise in support of this bill, the Country of Origin Labeling Amendments Act of 2015, which repeals the country of origin labeling law, also known as COOL. After numerous failed attempts to make COOL compliant with the World Trade Organization, it has become apparent that full repeal of COOL is unquestionably the right thing to do. That said, I am sure there are some who are concerned that repeal of COOL may compromise food safety. America had the safest, most trusted food supply in the world before COOL and, let me assure you, we will continue to have the safest food supply after this law is repealed. {time} 1500 Let me explain why. Regardless of origin, if an animal is imported as a live animal, it is harvested in USDA-inspected facilities. Additionally, cattle, hogs, and poultry are inspected prior to harvesting as live animals and throughout processing as a meat product. If the animal originates and is harvested in a different country, the plant has to have equivalent U.S. safety inspection standards and must be regularly audited by the USDA. The U.S. only imports meat products from countries that meet our standards. Furthermore, a foreign plant that does not fully comply with our standards is not permitted to ship meat into this country. In short, the fundamental protocols ensuring food safety are apart and separate from country of origin labeling.…
