Is repackaging foreign meat in the US enough to label it ‘Made in USA’?

Meat labeled in U.S. grocery stores as “made in USA” does not have to have come from animals in the United States, but that will change with a new federal rule.

The made-in-USA claim was made in ad by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, who is scheduled to speak Oct. 3, 2024, in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Currently, meat can be labeled “product of USA” if it is processed in the U.S., even if it came from an animal in another country.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on March 18 published a rule that says meat, as well as poultry and egg products, can be labeled as a product of, or made in, the USA only if the products are “derived from animals born, raised, slaughtered and processed in the United States.”

It is effective Jan. 1, 2026.

The change is being made because existing policy “may have confused consumers,” the department said.