Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 4/10/18



The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association(NCBA) and the National Farmers Union (NFU) are the latest two organizations to call on USDA to establish labeling requirements that better inform consumers about the difference between products that come from food animals and those that were created in a laboratory.

Earlier this year, the United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) petitioned USDA on the issue relative to beef.

NCBA urges labeling, food safety regulation
“It is critical that the federal government step up to the plate and enforce fair and accurate labeling for fake meat,” said Kevin Kester, president of NCBA, in a statement issued today. “As long as we have a level playing field, our product will continue to be a leading protein choice for families in the United States and around the world.”

In comments solicited by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, NCBA requested that USDA work with the Food and Drug Administration to “take appropriate, immediate enforcement action against improperly labeled imitation products."

NCBA also urged FSIS to “assert jurisdiction over foods consisting of, isolated from or produced from cell culture or tissue culture derived from livestock and poultry animals or their parts.”

“Lab-grown meat must comply with the same stringent food safety inspection standards as all other meat products,” NCBA asserted.

NFU: rules should extend to pork, lamb, poultry
NFU voted at its recent convention to support the USCA’s petition and seeks to extend the labeling requirement request beyond beef to also include poultry, pork and lamb products.

“NFU is concerned with the recent introduction of foods composed of alternative protein sources that are being labeled and marketed as 'meat’,” said NFU President Roger Johnson in a letter to USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. “NFU embraces new opportunities for family farmers and ranchers, including further development of markets for plant-based and insect-based proteins. However, we believe all food products should be clearly labeled in a manner that helps consumers make informed decisions and allows producers to differentiate their products.”

Johnson also highlighted concerns about development of alternative meat products grown in laboratories using animal cells. “These products are not derived from animals born, raised, and harvested in a traditional manner, and should not be permitted to be marketed as 'meat’,” he said.

Johnson said NFU supports USCA’s request to restrict the broader definition of “meat” to the tissue or flesh of animals that have been harvested in the traditional manner.

“We support the petition’s request to define 'beef’ as products deriving from cattle that have been born, raised, and harvested in the traditional manner,” Johnson said. “We also urge consistent application of the requested definition standards across meat products, including poultry, pork and lamb.”

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