Europe already has a mandatory COOL legislation for fresh
meat products.
Origin labels for beef were made mandatory in 2012 in
response to the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) crisis.
On Feb. 11, the parliament voted to create legislation
requiring the disclosure of the county of origin on all processed meats. Up to
half of all the meat produced in Europe is further-processed.
More than 90 percent of consumers consider country-of-origin
labeling important, the parliament stated
in its resolution on the issue.
In a 2013 report,
the commission estimated that COOL requirements could increase prices further
processors would need to pay for meat inputs by up to 25 percent.
