Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling of Fish and Shellfish

On October 5, 2004, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) published an interim final rule (69 FR 59708) for the mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) program for fish and shellfish as mandated by the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Farm Bill) and the 2002 Supplemental Appropriations Act (Appropriations Act), which amended the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (Act) to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate regulations by September 30, 2004, requiring retailers to notify their customers of the country of origin of covered commodities. The FY 2004 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Public Law 108-199) delayed the applicability of mandatory COOL for all covered commodities except wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish until September 30, 2006. AMS is extending the comment period to February 2, 2005, at the request of industry trade associations to provide interested parties with additional time to file comments.