Addressing 60-day Residency Guidelines Associated with Product of Canada Labelling
October 29, 2026 | Documents
Canada’s successful outcome at the WTO against US Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (mCOOL) was an important victory for the Canadian red meat industry. However, as you will be aware, there are now serious efforts in both the US congress and administration to reimpose mCOOL on beef. This represents a major threat to the Canadian beef industry.
The Canadian beef industry is engaged in advocacy efforts against mCOOL in the US, but these efforts are being impacted by the current “Product of Canada” guideline that requires cattle to be in Canada for at least 60 days for the meat from those cattle to be eligible for a “Product of Canada” label. This requirement is inconsistent with the widely accepted international standard that slaughter alone confers origin to a meat product. Importantly, it undermines our credibility in offering such a standard as an alternative to
the “born, raised, and slaughtered” standard currently being proposed in the US.