Source: Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 2/26/18


From the first quarter to the rest of the calendar year, a number of regulatory issues will battle for meat professionals’ time and energy.

In a presentation here at the Annual Meat Conference, Mark Dopp, general counsel to the North American Meat Institute, and Hilary Thesmar, chief food & product safety officer for the Food Marketing Institute, outlined the most urgent policy and legislative issues.

Alternative proteins
Noting the growth of the plant-based proteins and cultured meat industries, Dopp said a pressing issue is how and by whom these industries will be regulated.

“I think it’s a given that all plant protein issues … [will] consider [the Food & Drug Administration] to be the regulatory body,” Dopp said. “The bigger question is, who is going to grasp the regulatory scheme of the animal-based [lab-grown or cultured] products not yet on the market? … Are these products really meat?”

Different types of meat items are categorized differently, Dopp said, including “meat food products” and “meat byproducts,” which now are treated differently under the regulations.

A petition recently filed with USDA by the United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) asking the agency for rulemaking on beef labeling to clarify for consumers what is beef derived from cattle and “beef” products created in a laboratory, may not elicit the clarification it seeks, Dopp noted. Meanwhile, other organizations would be expected to get involved in the issue.

“The real issue is, what is the regulatory scheme going to look like to keep the playing field level for the meats that have been in the market for years?” he said.

Meat and cancer
The final monograph from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), detailing its October 2015 report that linked processed meats and red meat to cancer, is due sometime in the next couple of months, Dopp said.

“There will be another round of stories saying these meats are carcinogens. It’s not something that we’re looking forward to dealing with,” Dopp said.
Meanwhile, the World Cancer Research Fund is looking at meat’s role in cancer. And the federal National Toxicology Program looking for information, not only in terms of cancer, but on all other health diseases, as well, Dopp said.

“And this is our government doing this. The implications are significant not only for the commercial sector, but the government programs that spend on meat,” like school lunch program, the military and others, Dopp added.

COOL
Although not specifically about Country of Original Labeling efforts, Dopp pointed out that R-CALF has filed a lawsuit that argues when meat is sourced from another country — even if it’s processed in the United States — it is subject to the Tariff Act, which would require that it be labeled with the source country.

“If they win this case, although USDA would certainly appeal, at the end of the day we could be looking at having to label product as “product of U.S./Canada/whatever,” he said. “It’s a really important case that nobody’s paying attention to.”

Municipal regulations
Dopp also expressed concern over how gridlock in Washington, D.C., is fueling local and state governments’ desire to take matters into their own hands. Using by way of example San Francisco’s efforts to require major grocery chains to report information about antibiotic use in the raising of livestock that some 120 stores eventually sell as meat to the public, Dopp described the requirement as “not doable.”

Nevertheless, he said, the meat industry is going to see more of such efforts as municipal, county and state jurisdictions lose patience with the feds’ lack of ability to accomplish anything.

Listeria. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is cracking the whip on retailers and keeping listeria out of the meat products that they slice for customers, Thesmar said. Although it’s an issue that retailers have been trying to address for “decades,” she said. “Retail is feeling the pressure right now.”

Listeria control at retail is a super important issue,” she added. “A lot of people are watching. And we need to be very, very careful.”

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