In response to a letter sent to the White House earlier July 27 by national meat lobbying groups requesting USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to assert jurisdiction over laboratory-grown protein, United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) President Kenny Graner said the following.

“USCA agrees that progress must continue in addressing the regulatory questions surrounding cell-cultured protein, but today’s comments by the national meat lobbying groups ignore the most pressing elements of this issue.

“USCA has called on Congress and the administration to engage on this pivotal issue and implement policies that will get out ahead of consumer confusion in the marketplace by enforcing truth in labeling and facilitating inter-agency dialogue. Cell-cultured protein needs to be labeled for what it is — an alternative food product that is not beef or meat as consumers currently know it. As new technologies continue to emerge, a one-sized-fits-all governmental approach will simply not work.”

“USCA led on this issue in February 2018 by submitting a petition for rulemaking to USDA FSIS requesting that these products NOT be labeled as beef or meat.

For more information, read this USCA news release online.