A U.S. district court judge today denied a request for a preliminary injunction blocking a final USDA regulation mandating country-of-origin labels (COOL) on meat sold in retail stores until a lawsuit filed July 8 is concluded. That decision made COOL supporters happy but disappointed the plaintiffs, which include U.S. and Canadian meat packer and livestock organizations.

“We disagree strongly with the court’s decision and believe that several aspects of the ruling are susceptible to challenge,” said American Meat Institute President and CEO J. Patrick Boyle. “We intend to pursue them on appeal.”

Joining AMI in the lawsuit, filed July 8, are the American Association of Meat Processors, Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Canadian Pork Council, Confedaracion Nacional de Organizaciones Ganaderas, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Pork Producers Council, North American Meat Association and the Southwest Meat Association.

In the other corner is the National Farmers Union (NFU), the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, American Sheep Industry Association and the Consumer Federation of America, who intervened in the lawsuit last month.

“We are pleased that the packer-producer organizations and foreign interests’ attempts to thwart COOL have been denied,” said NFU President Roger Johnson. “We are committed to defending COOL and will continue to do so throughout this legal process.”

The judge denied the injunction request primarily on the basis that the plaintiffs were unable to demonstrate they would suffer irreparable injury if the regulation were to be implemented by USDA.