Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 2/16/15

The European Commission is set to create legislation now that the European Parliament last week voted to establish country-of-origin labeling (COOL) for processed meat products.

The EU already has a mandatory COOL legislation for fresh meat products. Origin labels for beef were made mandatory in response to the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) crisis. EU beef labeling rules have been in place since 2002.

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 posited that the labeling requirements could cost up to 25 percent of the cost of the product.

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