A move by US legislators to establish voluntary country of origin labelling for meat has been welcomed by sector bodies.
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The bipartisan Meat Promotion Act of 2005, establishes a voluntary, market-driven labelling scheme for US meat products.
“This proposed plan to voluntarily label domestically produced meat with labels displaying US origin is a sound, workable approach to providing consumers with this information,” said Mason Wiggins, vice president of federal government affairs for the Food Products Association. “The Food Products Association has long supported voluntary country-of-origin labelling for produce, meat and seafood, with oversight from the US Department of Agriculture.
“USDA’s proposed guidelines for country-of-origin labelling, which have been delayed by Congress, would be operationally impractical for food processors,” he said. “These guidelines would over-regulate by prescribing country-of-origin labelling for products already required to display such labelling, creating the prospect of duplicative, confusing and even conflicting requirements. It is also important to note that products of ‘foreign origin,’ as determined under US tariff laws, already are subject to country-of-origin labelling under a comprehensive set of regulations administered by the Customs Bureau.”
“FPA applauds Congressmen Goodlatte and his colleagues in the House of Representatives for their bipartisan efforts to craft legislation that will create a workable and cost-effective labelling programme,” he said. “We also will continue to advocate voluntary country of origin legislation for produce and seafood as well.”
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By GlobalDataNational Pork Producers Council president-elect Joy Philippi also supported the legislation. “A workable, voluntary labelling program needs the commitment of all segments of the meat or pork production chain to work together to benefit both producers and consumers by providing product origin information and not adding unnecessary costs without demonstrated benefits,” said Philippi. “We are supportive of a voluntary system which would benefit consumers without unduly burdening producers, particularly independent and smaller pork producers.”
“This legislation is widely supported by livestock producers as a means to move country-of-origin labelling for meat forward,” she said.
