A year after Congress repealed country-of-origin labeling for beef and pork, the USDA is beginning the process of adding venison to the list of commodities where labeling is mandatory. The 2014 farm law included a provision to include muscle cuts and ground venison to the labeling system.
The proposed rule is scheduled to appear today in the Federal Register, with comments accepted until March 14. USDA estimates there are roughly 4,000 deer and 1,200 elk farms in the country and that 60 percent of them produce venison for consumption. Under the proposal, producers, processors and retailers would be required to maintain records of the origin of the meat they sell.
Lawmakers voted to end mandatory labeling of beef and pork to avert up to $1 billion in retaliatory tariffs by Canada and Mexico, winners of a WTO challenge against the U.S. law. The WTO ruled that mandatory labeling was a trade barrier in disguise that inhibited cross-border trade in livestock. U.S. foodmakers and meatpackers said the label law was a bookkeeping headache with no benefit. There is almost no controversy to country-of-origin labels on chicken, lamb and goat meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables, peanuts, pecans, macadamia nuts and ginseng.
To read the proposed rule, click here. The USDA page for country of origin labeling is available here.