On Monday the USDA proposed a rule that would limit the use of the voluntary “Product of U.S.A.” label exclusively to meat, poultry, and egg products derived from animals born, raised, slaughtered and processed in the US.
Under current policy, imported products can bear a “Product of U.S.A.” label if it is repackaged at a USDA-inspected plant.
Angela Huffman, co-Founder and Vice President of Farm Action said the advocacy group is pleased with the announcement.
“It's time to end these fraudulent labeling practices,” she said. “We're excited about the choices that this is going to open up for consumers, and the impacts for our local farmers and ranchers and in our rural communities.”
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Mislabeling started in 2015 after Congress rolled back Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (MCOOL) for beef and pork. Currently MCOOL covers lamb, chicken other food commodities.
Huffman said her group has been lobbying against the move ever since.
“We’ve been fighting this issue, fighting for change for about five years, because that's when we really just started hearing from a lot of cattle producers here in the US having to compete with these imports,” she said. “They don't have to meet the same standards that are required of them here in the US.”
Categories: Indiana, Government & Policy