Rounds opposes dueling product labels

A petition seeking to eliminate the “Product of USA” label and replace it with a “Processed in the USA” label makes no sense, according to comments filed last week by U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD).

Specifically, Sen. Rounds submitted comments on Aug. 13 opposing the petition filed in June by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Center for Public Policy (NCBA), which called for the label change by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

NCBA claims that “such an update to the regulatory scheme will serve to eliminate potentially misleading, ambiguous source of origin labeling practices, ensure that the consumer is accurately informed, and facilitate marketing innovation throughout the beef industry,” according to Sen. Rounds’ comments.

“We agree with NCBA that the current Product of USA label is misleading and that an update would make certain the consumer is accurately informed,” the senator wrote. “Today, the USDA allowance that foreign beef may use a Product of USA label simply because it is processed in the United States defies logic, and I urge USDA to use this opportunity to make a meaningful change for American consumers and producers.” 

At the same time, Sen. Rounds also noted that such a proposed change would be “disingenuous” because it would suggest to consumers “that the beef is truly from the United States when it is not.”

“If a processor does not think that the Product of USA label is important, they do not need to use this voluntary label,” according to his filed comments. 

Sen. Rounds also pointed out that NCBA fails to recognize that the value of this voluntary label is driven by consumer demand to know from where the product originates and “is critically important that we restore integrity to the Product of USA label.”

“FSIS should not adopt a labeling scheme that is narrowly focused on where the meat is processed,” Sen. Rounds said. “While we do believe consumers care about where their meat is processed, we strongly believe consumers care more about where their meat originates.”

Comments on the petition are due by Aug. 17.