Source: Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 8/7/18


The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) filed notice today in the Federal Register saying the agency is revising the poultry standards  to align with the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS) definition of “roaster or roasting chickens” for labeling compliance.

Specifically, AMS is making the revisions to lower the age requirement for the “roaster and roasting chickens” class of poultry and to identify a ready-to-cook weight of 5.5 pounds or more. As the change ensures consistency with FSIS’s definition, AMS is not seeking public comment.

FSIS published in April 2016 a final rule amending the definition and standard of identify of the “roaster or roasting chicken” poultry class, with an effective date of Jan. 1, 2018. The rule resulted from a November 2013 petition from the National Chicken Council asking FSIS to remove the 8-week minimum age criteria and increased the ready-to-cook carcass weight to 5. 5 pounds, because processors were unable to label and market chickens as “roasters” that met all the physical attributes apart from the minimum age requirement.

FSIS completed a review of the petition in July 2014 and concluded that continuous improvements in breeding and poultry management techniques had enabled producers to raise chickens with the characteristics of roasters in fewer than eight weeks.
AMS is revising its poultry standards definition of roaster from usually 3 to 5 months of age to 5.5 pounds or more and less than 12 weeks of age to align with the new FSIS regulation.

To view the revised standards, click here. 

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