News from AAFC Market Access Secretariat
The Market Access Secretariat (MAS) at Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada would like to flag that on June 10, 2021, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) filed a petition with the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) for changes to the voluntary “Product of USA” label. USDA FSIS has posted the petition on its website and is seeking comments until August 17, 2021. (https://www.fsis.usda.gov/policy/petitions/petition-submitted-national-cattlemens-beef-association).
The petition is to “amend regulations implementing the Federal Meat Inspection Act to facilitate more informative labeling of beef products bearing “Product of USA” and related labeling claims.” Specifically, NCBA requests that USDA initiate rulemaking to amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act such that “Single ingredient beef product or ground beef product may be labeled as “Processed in the USA”, provided that such label displays all mandatory features in a prominent manner in compliance with part 317 and is not otherwise false or misleading in any particular manner. All other claims relating to U.S. origin, production or processing of product are not eligible for generic approval, and FSIS acceptance of all such claims must be supported by adequate documentation. The requirements of this paragraph are not applicable to product authorized for export by FSIS.” According to NCBA, “the recommended change continues to allow, without the need for any particular documentation or agency prior review, the voluntary use of the claim “Processed in the USA” on any federally inspected product.
If you provide comments, we would appreciate if you would also share a copy of your comments with AAFC at aafc.mas-sam.aac@agr.gc.ca.
