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Coalition calls for labeling of mechanically tenderized meat
Story Date: 9/10/2012
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Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 9/10/12
Citing the potential risk of pathogen contamination, a group of nine food safety organizations has called on Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to approve a proposal to label beef products that are mechanically tenderized.
An FSIS proposal to label mechanically tenderized meat has been under review at the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs since March – and the Safe Food Coalition is urging the Obama administration to approve it.
In a letter to Vilsack, the group argues that “consumers need to be provided with labeling information so that they can make appropriate selections and take the necessary steps in handling and cooking these products.”
Yet according to a 2010 analysis by the American Meat Institute of recent illness-related recalls linked to mechanically tenderized beef products, all of the recalls were tied back to products that were altered further before consumption, such as through marination.
“Without a label to identify mechanically treated meat products, along with information to help mitigate the risk, the unsuspecting purchasers of these products – whether they are restaurant cooks or consumers – will have no idea that the product that they have selected needs additional protective handling and preparation,” according to the letter.
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