Bill Summary
The U.S. Beef Integrity Act is a proposed bill that would amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act in order to change the labeling requirements for meat products derived from cattle. The bill would require that any meat product labeled as "Product of U.S.A." must be exclusively derived from cattle that were born, raised, and slaughtered in the United States. This labeling requirement would not apply to meat products intended for export. The purpose of this bill is to ensure that consumers are accurately informed about the origin of the beef they are purchasing.
Possible Impacts
1. Consumers may have more confidence in the quality and origin of the beef they are purchasing, as the label "Product of U.S.A." will only be used for beef exclusively derived from cattle born, raised, and slaughtered in the United States.
2. American cattle ranchers will benefit from increased demand for their products, as the label "Product of U.S.A." will be a sign of high quality and domestic production.
3. Meat processing companies may need to update their labeling processes and potentially change their supply chains in order to comply with the new labeling requirements.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2744 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2744
To amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act to modify requirements for a
meat food product of cattle to bear a ``Product of U.S.A.'' label, and
for other purposes.
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IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 30, 2019
Mr. Rounds (for himself and Mr. Thune) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry
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A BILL
To amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act to modify requirements for a
meat food product of cattle to bear a ``Product of U.S.A.'' label, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``U.S. Beef Integrity Act''.
SEC. 2. PRODUCT OF U.S.A. LABEL FOR BEEF.
Section 7 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 607) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Product of the United States Label for Beef.--
``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the label of
meat of cattle or a meat food product of cattle may bear the
phrase `Product of U.S.A.', or any substantially similar word
or phrase, only if the meat or meat food product is exclusively
derived from 1 or more cattle exclusively born, raised, and
slaughtered in the United States.
``(2) Inapplicability.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to
meat of cattle or a meat food product of cattle that is
intended and offered for export to a foreign country.''.
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