[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 248 (Tuesday, December 28, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 77609]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-28349]



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  Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 248 / Tuesday, December 28, 2004 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 77609]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 60

[No. LS-03-04]
RIN 0581-AC26


Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling of Fish and Shellfish

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim final rule; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: 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.

DATES:  Comments must be submitted on or before February 2, 2005, to be 
assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Country of Origin Labeling 
Program, Room 2092-S; Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), USDA; STOP 
0249; 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-0249, or by 
facsimile to (202) 720-3499, or by e-mail to [email protected]. Comments 
received will be posted to the AMS Web site at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/cool/. Comments sent to the above location that 
specifically pertain to the information collection and recordkeeping 
requirements should also be sent to the Desk Officer for Agriculture, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB), New Executive Office Building, 725 17th Street, NW., Room 
725, Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Sessions, Associate Deputy 
Administrator, Livestock and Seed Program, AMS, USDA, by telephone on 
(202) 720-5707, or via e-mail to: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Farm Bill and the Appropriations Act 
amended the 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.
    On October 5, 2004, AMS published an interim final rule (69 FR 
59708) for the mandatory country of origin labeling program for fish 
and shellfish. The comment period was originally scheduled to end on 
January 3, 2005. However, two industry trade organizations have 
requested additional time for retailers to examine their systems in 
light of the requirements of the interim final rule in order to provide 
more meaningful comments. Further, the Food and Drug Administration 
(FDA) recently published the final rule to implement the Bioterrorism 
Act's recordkeeping requirements and more time is needed for the 
industry to compare the FDA regulation recordkeeping requirements with 
the recordkeeping requirements under the COOL interim final rule. 
Therefore, AMS has determined that there is sufficient justification 
for extending the comment period 30 days until February 2, 2005.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.

    Dated: December 22, 2004.
A.J. Yates,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 04-28349 Filed 12-27-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-M