USDA just tightened up what “Product of USA” can actually mean, and that’s a win for clarity.

Ahead of January’s rollout of the new voluntary rules, FSIS updated its guidance to spell out key definitions, including:

  • “Raised” now means from birth to slaughter
  • Multi-country labels like “Product of USA and Canada” have defined guardrails
  • “Product of North America” is still allowed if it’s truthful and follows FSIS rules

The big takeaway: “Product of USA” or “Made in USA” can only be used (voluntarily) for meat, poultry, and egg products when the animals are born, raised, slaughtered, and processed in the United States.

USCA was at the forefront of pushing for a real, common-sense definition, so consumers aren’t left guessing and U.S. producers aren’t competing with fuzzy labels.

If you care about transparency at the meat case, this is one to watch.

–U.S. Cattlemen’s Association