Good news about food labels

It's nice to be able to discuss something good that has happened in our country. It's also rare, but that's another article.

McClatchy pulled a story from the Merced Sun-Star as to how COOL it is to have labels on our food which tell us from where the stuff derives.

COOL is an acronym for Country of Origin Labeling. COOL became effective in March and directs food purveyors to put COOL labels on "muscle cuts of beef, including veal, pork, goat, and chicken, along with ground beef, ground lamb, ground port, ground goat and ground chicken."

Labels also get stuck on "Farm-raised fish and shellfish ... along with wild fish and shellfish. Perishable fruits and vegetables are required to have the labels, as are peanuts, ginseng, pecans and macadamia nuts."

While COOL applies to the "major grocery stores and supermarkets ... Smaller stores such as fish markets and butcher shops, along with food service establishments, such as restaurants and bars, are exempt."


COOL sounds like a win-win. If you're like me, you've often looked at something you were about to chew away on and wondered where the heck it came from: Texas or Lower Mongolia.

And I've found in my life it's always better to know than not know.


There's more here.