Meat labels will include where animal was born and slaughtered, irking Canada and Mexico

April 5, 2013


By James Warren
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says its initiative will provide consumers with more information on where their food came from and provide more transparency. Canada and Mexico, the leading beef exporters to the U.S., claim it is uncalled for and a form of protectionism.

New meat labels would specify where cows and pigs were born, raised and slaughtered. Canada and Mexico claim it is protectionism and have filed objections with World Trade Organization.

WASHINGTON — If the feds get their way, meats on supermarket shelves will include some unappetizing details, such as where the animal was slaughtered.

Find that stomach-turning?

Better get used to it: Labels on meat products sold in the U.S. could soon read like a sad mini-biography of the ranch-raised beasts.

In a little-known regulatory action that has produced a storm of criticism, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has moved to rework how meats are sold at retailers, including grocery stores, are labeled. Under the Obama administration’s plan, meats would have to include labels informing the consumer where the animal was born, raised and slaughtered.


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