Covered seafood includes fillets, steaks, nuggets, and flesh from fish or shellfish. Fish that is cooked, cured, smoked, restructured, or combined with other substantive food components are not subject to COOL. Retailers may use various formats to provide the information, but no further steps are necessary if consumer-sized packages are appropriately labeled by the supplier. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it would focus on education and outreach, rather than enforcement, for the first several months.
COOL seafood labeling in place
Mandatory country-of-origin labeling for fresh and frozen seafood took effect April 4, 2005. Labeling also must disclose if the fish was caught in the wild or farm-raised.
Apr 30, 2005
