FSIS Releases Final Rule on Made in USA Labeling for Meat, Poultry, Egg Products
The Food Safety and Inspection Service will soon issue its new regulations on voluntary “Product of USA” or “Made in USA” labeling for meat, poultry and egg products, USDA said in a March 11 news release. Under the final rule, establishments using U.S.-origin claims will need to comply with the new requirements by Jan. 1, 2026.
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“Under the final rule, the ‘Product of USA’ or ‘Made in the USA’ label claim will continue to be voluntary,” USDA said. “It will also remain eligible for generic label approval, meaning it would not need to be pre-approved by” FSIS “before it can be used on regulated product, but would require the establishment to maintain documentation on file to support the claim,” it said.
“The final rule also allows the use of other voluntary U.S. origin claims on meat, poultry and egg products sold in the marketplace,” USDA said. “These claims will need to include a description on the package of the preparation and processing steps that occurred in the United States upon which the claim is made.”
A pre-publication version of the final rule says the “Product of USA” and “Made in USA” claims may be used “on single ingredient FSIS-regulated products (i.e., products produced under FSIS mandatory or voluntary inspection services) derived from animals born, raised, slaughtered, and processed in the United States.”
They may also be used on multi-ingredient products if “all FSIS-regulated products in the multi-ingredient product are derived from animals born, raised, slaughtered, and processed in the United States,” and “all other ingredients, other than spices and flavorings, are of domestic origin,” the final rule said. The “preparation and processing steps for the multi-ingredient product” must also have occurred in the U.S., FSIS said.
The final rule will apply only to products sold in the domestic market, the agency said, and “FSIS will continue to verify that labeling requirements for the applicable country are met” for exported products.
USDA also published updated labeling guidance “on the use of voluntary U.S.-origin label claims to provide examples of claims and the types of documentation that establishments may maintain to support use of the claims,” it said in the news release.