Grocery stores can officially stop labelling cuts of pork and beef with their country of origin. As Harvest Public Media’s Grant Gerlock reports, the federal government has wiped the controversial law that required those labels off the books.
Kansas State University livestock economist Glynn Tonsor says regardless of labeling, imported meat is subject to U.S. food safety rules.
"When we bring meat in, it still has to pass safety protocol by USDA, just like it does if it’s produced here," he says.
That’s why meat companies argued the labels were unnecessary. But some ranchers wanted protection from foreign competition.
Congress repealed mandatory labelling on beef and pork late last year, after the U.S. lost a World Trade Organization dispute with Mexico and Canada. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has now made repeal official, although labels are still necessary for poultry, fish and a list of other foods.
