The beef import debate rolls onThe beef import debate rolls on

While the U.S. sets the standard for global beef safety, arguments over imports have more consumer confidence implications than meets the eye.

Clint Peck

January 16, 2025

4 Min Read
Beef in supermarket
Getty Images

An article in the Jan 8, 2025, issue of the Cowboy State Daily outlined proposed state legislation that would mandate “Made in the USA” labeling on all American beef products sold in Wyoming. The bill sponsored by state Sen. Cheri Steinmetz, R-Lingle, is designed to make it clear to Cowboy State consumers when they’re buying non-American beef.

Steinmetz’s bill is not an uncommon proposal and blends two components of the import argument that the U.S. beef industry has wrestled with for 30+ years:

  • Imported beef is unsafe and unwholesome.

  • Imported beef hurts the ranching economy.

In the article, some assumptions are presented. One of which is: "Imported beef is processed according to the food safety standards of the country it is in, which can be much lower than those in America, before being shipped halfway around the world to U.S. supermarkets and restaurants."

The other assumption in the article states: “The foreign presence in the U.S. beef market generally lowers prices by increasing supply.”

While the two assumptions are intertwined and are worthy of continued debate and scrutiny, let’s focus for now on the risks associated with importing beef—and leave the economic debate for another time.

The U.S. sets the standard

By law USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) is responsible for assuring imported meat is safe, wholesome, unadulterated, and properly labeled and packaged under inspection systems "equal to" those in the U.S. It’s safe to say that the U.S. sets the global standard for beef safety.

Only countries that can demonstrate equivalent safety inspection systems are eligible to export to the U.S. It’s important to note that most other importing countries, like those in the EU, Asia, and the Middle East hold exporters to equivalency measures that mirror those set by USDA.

The FSIS maintains an Import & Export Library that identifies the products each export-certified plant in each equivalent country is eligible to export to the U.S. If an exporting entity were to try and bypass the system by placing substandard products into commerce, both the exporter and the importer face intensified inspection or expulsion from the export markets.

In simple business terms, the costs associated with losing lucrative export markets are simply too great to risk—for the exporting plant, its host country, and the importer who ultimately shares in the cost of potential recalls or damages.

Once an imported meat product enters the U.S., the shipment is subject to re-inspection. Granted, not every box is opened, nor is every chub of frozen boneless beef sampled. But after FSIS releases the

product into commerce it’s subject to further inspection before it’s processed and packaged for resale. Little imported beef is kitchen- or meat case-ready.

Recalls of imported beef, as with domestic beef, do occur. In March 2024, 20,000 lbs. of fresh Uruguayan beef imported by a California-based company was distributed to processors in Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington. The shipment’s import documents were missed by inspectors and the product was traced, recalled, and disposed of after FSIS discovered the problem during routine surveillance activities. Even though the recall was not over the safety of the imported beef, the product ultimately never entered consumer channels.

Keeping the tide high…

Beef producers in this country can voluntarily origin-label their beef products. Hundreds of ranchers and processors successfully, in growing numbers, do it on a local and regional basis every day. They distinguish their products in the marketplace by telling their story, through local or brand loyalty, and by directly or indirectly applying a “Made in U.S.” label.

As these producers gain market share, they acquire consumers through local and brand loyalty with a message of trust and traceability. The challenge is to differentiate a beef product while keeping the tide high for the many other producers who sell their cattle and beef into the more traditional commodity marketplace—that includes in its mix, imported beef.

But today a new generation of self-proclaimed industry pundits are working to lower the tide by categorically bashing imports. Using print media and especially social media, they imply—or outright state—that beef that does not carry a "Made in U.S." label should automatically be considered unsafe and unwholesome.

When these individuals condemn that 15% of the U.S. beef supply is imported, they put in question the 80% of beef that’s non-branded in the meat case yet carries a “USDA Inspected and Passed” stamp. Ultimately, we all pay the price as these “influencers” undermine confidence in the U.S. beef industry.

More options and choices for beef consumers help keep our industry afloat and thriving. And we can keep the voluntary differentiation movement alive without states or the federal government forcing labeling or traceability. Meanwhile, it would help if some of the anti-beef rhetoric out there was reined in with a more informed, objective, connect-the-dots mentality that conveys trust in the entire American beef supply.

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