Seafood Labeling Law Delayed

Seafood producers and retailers got a six-month reprieve on the mandatory country-of-origin labeling laws that were expected to go into effect Sept. 30, 2004. Because the U.S. Department of Agriculture believed a lot of product was already in the chain of commerce, it delayed publishing the rule in the Federal Register until Oct. 5. As a result, the law will not be enforced until April 4, 2005. The COOL rule will require producers, packers, retailers and others to track and label the origin of all components of a product.