Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 3/28/14

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday denied the meat industry’s appeal of a denial of its request for a preliminary injunction over the mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) rule.

The preliminary injunction would prevent revised COOL regulations from remaining in effect while the plaintiffs’ lawsuit challenging the regulations proceeds. Friday’s ruling affirmed a Sept. 11, 2013, decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that also denied the request for a preliminary injunction. As a result, the revised COOL regulations will remain in place while the case is pending.

The plaintiffs — the American Meat Institute, American Association of Meat Processors, Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Canadian Pork Council, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Pork Producers Council, North American Meat Association, Southwest Meat Association and Mexico’s National Confederation of Livestock Organizations — had argued that enforcement of the rule would cause irreparable harm to the industry and have severe economic impacts that are not in the public interest.

The injunction request, filed in July 2013, argued that COOL (which was finalized in May 2013) exceeds the authority granted to USDA in the 2008 Farm Bill and that it offers little benefit to consumers while fundamentally altering the meat and poultry industry.

For more stories, go to www.meatingplace.com.