GREAT FALLS — Starting in the new year, shoppers may notice changes to how meat products are labeled at the grocery store.
Beginning January 1, 2026, new federal rules tighten the standards for when meat can carry a “Product of USA” or “Made in the USA” label. The updated policy aims to clarify the origin of food and reduce confusion for consumers.
Under the new rule, meat can only use the “Product of USA” label if the animal was born, raised, slaughtered, and processed entirely in the United States. While the label remains voluntary, companies that choose to use it must meet the new requirements and maintain documentation to support the claim.
Madison Collier reports - watch the video here:
Montana Farmers Union President Walter Schweitzer says the change addresses long-standing concerns with how the label has been used.
“Product of USA became a label after Congress repealed mandatory COOL back in 2014,” Schweitzer said. “And so the packers did what they did is they created this label ‘product of USA’ so that they could mix foreign beef in with American beef and put it together and call it product of USA.”
Under the previous standard, products could carry U.S. origin claims even if only one step of the process happened domestically. Supporters of the update claim that it misled many shoppers into believing they were purchasing U.S.-raised beef when, in fact, they were not.
Processing facilities say the new rule places greater emphasis on traceability—tracking where animals come from and how that information follows the product through the system.
“When it comes to beef, pork, chicken, Americans should know if it comes from another country because we have no control over those countries,” said William Jones, general manager of Montana Premium Processing Co-op in Havre. “Americans should be able to support American if that’s what they choose to do.”
Schweitzer points to the scale of imports as a reason origin labeling matters.
“Thirty percent of our beef that’s in our supply chain is imported, and that is why it is important to have a country of origin label on that package,” he said.
Jones says many processors already track origin information, but the rule formalizes how that information is reflected on labels.
“Point being that we should at least know if we’re bringing beef into the shop that is from a different country so that we can identify it, make sure to keep it completely separate, and then just get it on the label,” Jones said.
The USDA says the update is designed to better align labeling with what consumers expect when they see a “Product of USA” claim. For shoppers, the change is intended to provide clearer information about where their meat comes from when browsing store shelves.
The updated labeling rules take effect January 1, 2026.
