Chad Smith, NAFB News Service

The United States Cattlemen filed a petition for rulemaking with the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service to address “Product of the USA” and “Made in the USA” claims on U.S. beef. The USCA says since the repeal of Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) back in 2015, there is no clear definition of what constitutes a U.S. beef product. Cattle or beef imported into the U.S. that undergoes further processing or handling at a USDA-inspected facility can then be labeled as a “Product of the United States.” That’s even if the handling of the product inside U.S. borders was minimal. The petition says, “To eliminate the likelihood of confusion and to better inform consumers, USCA contends that voluntary labels indicating ‘Made in the USA,’ ‘Product of the USA,’ or similar content should be limited to beef from cattle born, raised, and harvested in the United States.” U.S. Cattlemen’s founding members were the first proponents of Country of Origin Labeling in the 2002 Farm Bill. The organization says it remains steadfast in its support for a truthful and transparent labeling program for U.S. beef products.