January 22, 2001

USDA has decided to discontinue official grading of imported beef, lamb, veal and calf carcasses. The proposed rule would mean the USDA grade shield would appear only on meat products from livestock slaughtered in the United States. In 1999, the National Cattleman's Beef Association and the American Sheep Industry Association requested that USDA end the official grading of imported meat products. USDA solicited comments on this issue in an "advanced notice of proposed rule-making" published last year.

That notice drew 104 responses from individuals and producer groups, the majority of whom asked that USDA discontinue grading of imported meat products. They expressed concern that applying the USDA grade shield to imported meat products confuses consumers about the origin of those products.

The proposal will appear in a future issue of the Federal Register. Additional information may be obtained from, Larry R. Meadows, Chief, Meat Grading and Certification Branch, AMS Livestock and Seed Program, USDA Stop 0248, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20090-0248; telephone (202) 720-1113; fax (202) 690-4119; or e-mail larry.meadows@usda.gov.

USDA's action will allow consumers to make better-informed decisions on meat purchases, the NCBA said. "When a consumer purchases beef that is certified with one of the USDA quality grades, that leads them to believe the beef was raised in the United States," said George Hall, NCBA president and a cattle producer from Mustang, OK. "Not only does it mislead U.S. consumers and falsely indicate that U.S. cattlemen produced the beef, but it gives foreign cattle producers an unfair advantage in the U.S. marketplace."