National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) has expressed their support for voluntary beef product labels by filing a petition to eliminate the “Product of the USA” label. The association asserts the Product of the USA label is misleading, and instead supports a generic label that will provide opportunities for more value-capturing labels.
NCBA said the current Product of the USA label is a “disservice to American consumers and cattle producers alike.” The label implies that a beef product is entirely of U.S. origin, but imported products are also eligible for the label as long as the product was minimally processed or repackaged in a USDA-inspected facility, the group said.
“It is not subject to source verification, is not tied to any kind of food safety standard, and is applied by packers and retailers in a manner that does not deliver value back to the cattle producer,” NCBA said in a released statement.
The group has supported voluntary efforts for many years that give producers the opportunity to capture more value through origin labels and marketing initiatives, the press release read. Instead of the Product of the USA label, NCBA is proposing a more generic label such as “Processed in the USA.” The association also requests USDA work with stakeholders to develop voluntary origin marketing claims that deliver benefits to producers.
“Marketing through source verification will provide a more accurate and truthful description of the product, which will reduce the potential for consumer confusion while increasing the ability for cattle producers to capture additional premiums for their product,” NCBA said.
The association filed a petition June 10 with the Food Safety and Inspection Service to amend regulations implementing the Federal Meat Inspection Act to facilitate more informative labeling of beef products. NCBA wrote that eliminating the Product of the USA label and allowing more descriptive labels shouldn’t require new regulatory requirements on the beef supply chain.
“There is a growing desire among consumers to know more about the origin of the food they purchase, and it is critical that producers are empowered with opportunities to market their high-quality beef in a way that allows them to differentiate the source of their product from competitors and potentially increase profitability,” said NCBA President Jerry Bohn. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
