The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued an interim final rule for the mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) program that will become effective on Sept. 30.

The 2002 and 2008 Farm Bills amended the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to require retailers to notify their customers of the country of origin of covered commodities. Those commodities include:

Muscle cuts of beef, including veal.
Lamb
Chicken
Goat
Pork
Ground beef
Ground lamb
Ground chicken
Ground goat
Ground pork
Wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish
Perishable ag commodities
Macadamia nuts
Pecans
Ginseng
Peanuts