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COOL delayed

Country-of-origin labeling requirements were put on hold for two years as lawmakers worked to wrap up a massive spending bill to keep the government in business by the end of the year.

That was a relief to opponents in the food industry, but with the COOL law still on the books, they vowed to keep fighting for repeal.

Meanwhile the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration submitted comments indicating that COOL would be a burden to smaller meat processors and expose them to losing valuable customers. Small meat processors also would have to raise wholesale prices to cover the added costs of COOL, putting them at a competitive disadvantage.

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