‘Product of USA’ rule to be tightened

Meat, poultry or eggs labeled as a U.S. product must come from animals raised and slaughtered within the country under a rule proposed by the Biden administration on Monday, in a victory for U.S. ranchers who had lobbied for the change.

Existing rules for the label permit its use for meat derived from animals that were born and raised abroad and only processed in the United States, which the nation’s farmers and ranchers had argued disadvantaged domestic producers.

The administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pledged to review the “Product of USA” and “Made in the USA” label standards for meat early last year as part of a broader strategy to encourage competition in the economy as a whole and in the highly consolidated meat sector.

Groups representing farmers and ranchers cheered the announcement.

“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,” U.S. Cattlemen’s Association president Justin Tupper said in a statement. The group had petitioned the USDA to update its labeling.