{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-submits-comment-to-protect-integrity-of-meat-and-poultry-product-labeling-standards", "Rounds Submits Comment to Protect Integrity of Meat and Poultry Product Labeling Standards", "2021-12-07", "2021", "2021-12", "Republican", "Senate", "SD", "Mike Rounds", "R000605", "www.rounds.senate.gov", "rounds", "https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2014U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) submitted a comment to the proposed U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) rulemaking that could allow terms such as \u201cmeat\u201d, \u201csteak\u201d or \u201cpoultry\u201d to be used on foods that are artificially produced. Rounds argues allowing these terms to be used on lab grown food products is confusing and misleading to consumers, and puts ranchers and farmers\u2019 reputations and livelihoods at risk. In his comment, Rounds urged the USDA to provide transparency and accuracy in its labeling of cell cultured foods.\n\nIn his comment to the USDA, Rounds writes, \u201cSimply put, lab grown food products are not equivalent to meat and poultry products born, raised and harvested in the traditional manner. Pursuant to applicable federal laws, the FSIS should promulgate clear, accurate and fair regulations governing the labeling of these cell cultured foods so they cannot be confused with traditional meat and poultry products.\u201d\n\nRounds continues, \u201cAs public servants, we can never forget our solemn responsibility to assist \u2013 not harm \u2013 those that we have been called to serve. We must remember that regulatory decisions can have far reaching consequences not only for America\u2019s farm and ranch families but for consumers and the entire economy.\u201d\n\nRead Rounds\u2019 comment to the USDA by clicking here.\n\nBackground:\n\nSince he was elected to the Senate, Sen. Rounds has led numerous efforts to provide solutions to the problems faced by independent cattle producers and beef consumers. Most recently, he:\n\nIntroduced the USA Beef Act to limit the use of the \u201cProduct of USA\u201d label only to beef products that are born, raised and slaughtered in the United States. Current USDA rules allow for foreign beef raised in other countries to receive this label. This bill outlaws this current practice and restores integrity to a currently misleading, but ultimately valuable tool for consumers and cattle producers.\n\nSubmitted a comment in opposition of the National Cattlemen\u2019s Beef Association Center for Public Policy (NCBA) petition which called for the elimination of the \u201cProduct of USA\u201d label and the creation of a new \u201cProcessed in USA\u201d label.\n\nCosponsored a bill to restore mandatory country of origin labeling (MCOOL) for beef.\n\nIntroduced the Meat Packing Special Investigator Act with Sens. Tester and Grassley to give the U.S. Department of Agriculture the tools to investigate anticompetitive practices in the cattle market.\n\nLed a group of 26 colleagues with Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) in calling on the attorney general to investigate the meatpacking industry to determine if antitrust violations exist.\n\nAddressed cattle producers during a virtual town hall focused on meatpacker concentration in the cattle industry.\n\nReintroduced legislation with Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) to allow meat and poultry products inspected by state Meat and Poultry Inspection (MPI) programs to be sold across state lines.\n\nIntroduced bipartisan legislation to foster more competitive cattle markets by requiring that a minimum of 50 percent of a meatpacker\u2019s weekly volume of cattle purchases take place on the open or spot market.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:37:48Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-submits-comment-to-protect-integrity-of-meat-and-poultry-product-labeling-standards"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.7489971835166216, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}