DENVER —  A recent ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the 10^th Circuit affirmed a dismissed lawsuit against four major meat companies over alleged mislabeling.

The new measure looked to challenge the original January 2020 lawsuit filed against Tyson Foods Inc., Cargill Meat Solutions, JBS USA and National Beef Packing Co. The previous class-action lawsuits, filed by plaintiffs Robin Thornton and Michael Lucero, claimed that labels used on the companies’ products deceived customers into paying more for meat because they thought it was raised on American soil.

In 2015, Congress repealed the US country of origin labeling (COOL) law after a series of rulings by the World Trade Organization against the law. At the time, the WTO ruled against US COOL policy and authorized Canada and Mexico to impose retaliatory tariffs of $1 billion. 

Bipartisan legislation was introduced in September 2021 to reinstate the law for beef and beef products.

In July 2021, the US Department of Agriculture announced a comprehensive review of the “Product of USA” label for meat which is managed by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).