Petition for Policy Change in FSIS’ “Product of U.S.A.” Label

August 2018

National Agricultural Law Center, Issue Brief Series

In a petition filed with the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), two national organizations have called for a change in the policy that determines what meat products can bear the “Product of U.S.A.” label. The American Grassfed Association (AGA) and the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) have asked the FSIS to change its “Food Standards and Labeling Policy Book” to alter one of the two ways that a meat product can secure the “Product of U.S.A.” label.

In 1906, the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) became law, with a goal of preventing misbranding. Currently, FSIS is the agency responsible for implementing FMIA and received the AGA/OCM petition June 12, 2018. The petition relied on FMIA to argue that Congress specifically intended to provide more clarity to the methodology of meat processing and labeling and thus avoid the scenarios they argue are taking place under the current FSIS labeling guidelines.

Read the full article here.