(JULY 2, 2021) – On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it would be following the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) vote to strengthen its enforcement of the Made in the USA standard.
United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) President Brooke Miller issued the following statement:
“USCA applauds the Biden Administration for tackling the misuse and mislabeling of products as ‘Made in the U.S.A.’ when the product contains foreign components. The FTC’s vote to impose fines on companies that cannot prove that ‘all or virtually all’ of their product is of U.S. origin is an important step towards stopping these bad actors from misrepresenting their goods in the consumer marketplace.
“Further, we welcome USDA’s announcement that it will initiate rulemaking based on the petition for rulemaking that USCA submitted in 2019 requesting ‘any beef product labeled as ‘Made in the USA,’ ‘Product of the USA,’ ‘USA beef,’ or otherwise indicated to be U.S. beef, come from cattle that have been born, raised, and harvested in the United States.’
“USCA looks forward to working with USDA and other industry stakeholders to define what constitutes a true ‘Product of the U.S.A.’ Consumers actively seek out origin labeling information on U.S. beef products to ensure they are supporting the highest quality, most sustainable beef production system in the world. That information should be provided truthfully, transparently, and without loopholes.”
Learn more: On May 15, 2020, USCA’s Labeling Committee Co-Chair Maggie Nutter and Director of Policy & Outreach Lia Biondo discuss all things related to truthful and transparent labeling on U.S. beef.