COMMENT ON FTC’S “MADE IN THE U.S.A.” PROPOSED RULE

(SEPTEMBER 9) – Earlier this summer, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that to address products making unqualified “Made in the U.S.A.” claims.

The proposed rule prohibits marketers from including “Made in the U.S.A.” claims on labels unless:

  1. Final assembly or processing of the product occurs in the United States,
  2. all significant processing that goes into the product occurs in the United States, and
  3. all or virtually all ingredients or components of the product are made and sourced in the United States.

The FTC wants to strengthen  “Made in the U.S.A.” labeling requirements by reserving the label only for products in which, among other things, all significant processing that goes into the product occurs in the United States, and all or virtually all ingredients of the product are made and sourced in the United States.

The FTC is specifically looking for any statutes, rules, or policies that may conflict with this proposal, especially any state country-of-origin labeling.

The public comment period closes September 14th. We are strongly encouraging ALL cattle producers and beef consumers to submit their own comments detailing how current USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) policy is in direct conflict with the language of the proposed rule.

A few suggested talking points to help you build your case:

  • Under FSIS rules, a product can be properly labeled “Product of the USA” if the product has been processed in the United States. In a letter to USCA, the agency stated:
    • Product of the USA . . . has never been construed by FSIS to mean that the product is derived only from animals that were born, raised, slaughtered, and prepared in the United States. The only requirement for products bearing this labeling statement is that the product has been prepared (i.e., slaughtered, canned, salted, rendered, boned, etc.).”
  • This is in direct conflict with the language of the proposed rule, which states that “all or virtually all ingredients or components of the product are made and sourced in the United States.”
  • Therefore, the current beef labeling structure would not meet the FTC’s litmus test to earn the “Made in the U.S.A.” label.

SUBMIT COMMENTS HERE. |  READ THE PROPOSED RULE HERE