New Economic Study Finds Reinstating mCOOL Would Cost Consumers and Meat Supply Chain More Than $1 Billion Annually

The Meat Institute announced the release of a new economic analysis examining the potential impact of reinstating Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (mCOOL) requirements for beef and pork.

The analysis, conducted by Decision Innovation Solutions, estimates that reinstating mCOOL could create more than $1 billion in additional annual costs across the U.S. beef and pork supply chains. The study evaluates the potential impact of the requirements using current production, trade, consumption, and market data.

According to the analysis, compliance requirements associated with mCOOL could increase costs related to animal-origin tracking, recordkeeping, product segregation, labeling, production scheduling, and verification.

The study estimates approximately $1.02 billion in first-year costs, including approximately $721 million for beef and $296 million for pork. It projects cumulative costs of approximately $4.8 billion over five years and $10.1 billion over ten years.

The analysis also examines how these costs could move through the supply chain. According to the study, consumers could face higher food costs as businesses absorb or pass along additional compliance expenses. The report estimates that consumers could pay approximately $835 million more annually for beef and $284 million more annually for pork.

Processors, packers, and retailers would face significant operational requirements under a mandatory labeling system. These could include maintaining separate inventories, tracking animal-origin information, segregating products, modifying production schedules, updating labels, and documenting compliance.

The study identifies ground beef as a particularly complex category because production frequently involves combining beef from multiple sources to achieve desired lean-to-fat ratios. The analysis estimates that mCOOL compliance costs for ground beef could range from $202 million to $688 million annually, depending on the requirements implemented.

The analysis also considers potential effects on livestock producers, including additional documentation requirements, reduced market flexibility, and possible impacts on market efficiency.

The Meat Institute argues that the findings demonstrate the potential economic consequences of reinstating mCOOL and highlights the availability of the voluntary Product of USA labeling framework as an alternative for consumers seeking information about where beef and pork were born, raised, and processed.

The study provides policymakers, meat industry stakeholders, processors, retailers, livestock producers, and consumers with an analysis of the potential economic implications of mandatory country-of-origin labeling across the U.S. beef and pork value chain.