Washington - U.S. cattle producers urged House members to support a Senate provision that would require country-of-origin labeling on imported beef and lamb, but a key Democrat expressed concern.
Chandler Keys, vice-president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, said current rules allow Canadian producers to present their beef as U.S. origin.
"They are laundering beef," Keys said, referring to the Canadian practice of shipping live cattle into the United States. The cattle are slaughtered and sold as beef in U.S. supermarkets without consumers knowing its origin, he said.
The Senate provision would require country-of-origin labeling on muscle meats - such as steak, chuck, roasts and other cuts - sold from such cattle and lamb.
The Senate language would also require the Agriculture Department to conduct a study on the costs and benefits of requiring labeling on ground beef and lamb products.
Labeling imported ground or processed beef might be difficult because it is often mixed with U.S. products, Keys said. But muscle meat is sold separately, he noted.
Rep. Charles Stenholm, a Texan who is the farm panel's top Democrat, expressed concern about the provision. The U.S. has opposed European Union proposals to require the labeling of genetically-modified corn and soybeans on the grounds that would be a trade barrier, he said.
"I'm a little concerned about us unilaterally imposing a labeling requirement," Stenholm said. "I hope we don't unilaterally make some decisions now that end up hurting us in the big picture."
But Keys argued the two situations were not similar. Whereas corn and soybeans are raw materials, muscle meats are a finished product, he said.
"We don't think it's a non-tariff barrier. We think it's a consumer right to know," Keys said, echoing an argument many EU officials have made about genetically-modified crops.
The Senate approved the labeling plan last week as part of its fiscal 1999 agricultural appropriations package.
However, a similar bill passed by the House does not contain the provision. In the coming days, negotiators from the House and Senate will meet to work out that and other differences in the two bills.
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