On May 13, 2002, the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, more commonly known as the 2002 Farm Bill, became law. One of its many provisions requires country of origin labeling (COOL) for beef, lamb, pork, fish, perishable agricultural commodities, and peanuts. On January 27, 2004, Public Law 108-199 delayed implementation of mandatory COOL for all covered commodities except wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish until September 30, 2006. Covered commodities were defined as any muscle cuts of beef, lamb and pork, ground beef, lamb and pork, farm-raised and wild fish, peanuts and any perishable agricultural commodity. On November 10, 2005, Public Law 109-97 delayed implementation of mandatory COOL for all covered commodities except wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish until September 30, 2008. As described in the legislation, program implementation is the responsibility of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. The recently enacted Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) expands the list of covered commodities. The term “covered commodity” has been defined in this interim final rule as “muscle cuts of beef, lamb, chicken, goat, and pork; ground beef, ground lamb, ground chicken, ground goat, and ground pork; perishable agricultural commodities; peanuts; pecans; ginseng; and macadamia nuts.” COOL is essentially a marketing program which ensures that consumers receive one piece of information about covered commodities: the country of origin. It cannot be construed as a food safety issue because it makes no changes in who can supply commodities or the requirement for supplying commodities in the marketplace. All food products offered to U.S. consumers have already passed existing food safety standards. COOL is administered by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) because it is a marketing program; food safety issues are handled by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) or the Animal and