OIG: AMS needs to strengthen COOL enforcement
September 08, 2011 | 06:45 PM | Filed in: Agricultural Marketing Service USDA
The Agricultural Marketing Service, a division of the Agriculture Department, needs to improve its controls and processes to ensure retailers and suppliers fully comply with the regulations of the country-of-origin labeling program known as COOL, the USDA Office of the Inspector General said in a report issued Wednesday.
Specifically, AMS needs to strengthen its process for selecting retailers for review, strengthen the review process itself, and improve the timeliness with which it evaluates retailer documentation and issues noncompliance letters, the report said.
AMS also needs to vigorously enforce COOL requirements, provide better oversight of the state agencies tasked with conducting the retailer reviews, and improve the way it communicates with and provides program guidance to retailers, the OIG added.
The OIG also said AMS had agreed to implement all 14 recommendations in the report.
Specifically, AMS needs to strengthen its process for selecting retailers for review, strengthen the review process itself, and improve the timeliness with which it evaluates retailer documentation and issues noncompliance letters, the report said.
AMS also needs to vigorously enforce COOL requirements, provide better oversight of the state agencies tasked with conducting the retailer reviews, and improve the way it communicates with and provides program guidance to retailers, the OIG added.
The OIG also said AMS had agreed to implement all 14 recommendations in the report.
