Clarifying grocery meat labels
USDA proposal tightens rule by which beef, poultry merit being called ‘Product of USA’
Shoppers could soon find it easier to tell if those grocery store steaks or pork chops were really “Made in the USA.”
Federal agriculture officials released new requirements this week that would allow labels on meat, poultry or eggs to use that phrase — or “Product of USA” — only if they come from animals “born, raised, slaughtered and processed in the United States.” That’s a sharp change from current policy, which allows voluntary use of such labels on products from animals that have been imported from a foreign country and slaughtered in the U.S., but also on meat that’s been imported and repackaged or further processed.
Imports of beef from countries including Australia, Canada and Brazil, for instance, account for about 12% of the total consumed in the U.S. Overall, imports of red meat and poultry account for less than 6%, while imports of eggs account for less than half of 1%.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the proposed rule would better align the labels with consumers’ views. A survey commissioned by the USDA found that nearly two-thirds of shoppers believed that a “Product of USA” label meant that most or all meat production steps occurred in the U.S.
“There’s obviously a disconnect between what the consumers’ understandings and expectations are and what the label currently is,” Vilsack said.
About 12% of all meat, poultry and egg products sold in the country carry the U.S.-origin labels, USDA officials said.
The label change was first proposed by President Joe Biden in 2021 and was included last year in a series of steps to bolster the U.S. meat and poultry supply chain.
The USDA survey, conducted last summer, included a nationally representative sample of more than 4,800 American adults who do the grocery shopping for their families and who bought beef or pork in the previous six months. More than 40% of the shoppers said they look for the USA label when buying meat.
The rule was praised by consumer advocates and representatives for U.S. ranchers and farmers, including the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, which petitioned the USDA for the label change in 2019.
“The proposed rule finally closes this loophole by accurately defining what these voluntary origin claims mean,” said Justin Tupper, the group’s president. “If it says ‘Made in the USA,’ then it should be from cattle that have only known USA soil. Consumers have the right to know where their food comes from, full stop.”
Thomas Gremillion, director of food policy for the Consumer Federation of America, said the change is a “small but important step” that is long overdue.
Under the current rule, Gremillion noted, a cow can be raised in Mexico under that country’s regulations for feed and medications, then shipped across the border and slaughtered that same day to make ground beef and steaks that qualify as “Product of USA.”
An official with the North American Meat Institute, which represents large firms that process most of the meat and poultry products sold in the U.S., said she hadn’t seen details of the new rule. But Sarah Little added, the group “opposes overly prescriptive labeling requirements that will raise prices for consumers.”