Court Says that Meat Industry Groups Not Likely To Succeed On Killing COOL Rules - Preliminary Injunction Denied.

Various meat industry groups sued to enjoin enforcement of the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) rules (78 Fed. Reg. 31, 367) that require meat retailers of "muscle cuts" to list the countries of origin and production steps occurring in each country.  The groups claimed that providing such factual information violated the COOL statute (7 U.S.C. Sec. 1638a(a)(2)(E)) and the First Amendment.  The trial court denied the injunction on the basis that the groups were not likely to prevail on the merits.  On appeal, the court affirmed.  The appellate court determined that the groups were wrong on their claim that the rule unlawfully bans commingling because the rules don't ban any element of the production process, but merely requires accurate labeling with the three phases of production that are named in the statute  and will require changes in the production process.  The court also held that there was no restriction on free speech in violation of the First Amendment because the rules merely require disclosure of factual information that have legitimate values of patriotism and providing assurance to customers of food safety to those that believe the U.S. is superior to other countries on the food safety issue.  The court's affirmance of the denial of the preliminary injunction means that the meat industry groups cannot suspend the enforcement of the rules while a lower court decides the merits of the case.  American Meat Institute, et al. v. United States Department of Agriculture, No. 13-5281, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 5710 (D.C. Cir. Mar. 28, 2014)