Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 5/16/14
 
A new report reveals the USDA is failing to verify the accuracy of label claims on meat and poultry products sold in the United States, according to the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI).

Its “Label Confusion: How 'Humane’ and 'Sustainable’ Claims On Meat Packages Deceive Consumers” calls on the agency to require independent third-party certification to prevent consumers from being misled.

AWI said that it found that only two of the claims approved by USDA were substantiated by anything more than a brief statement by the producer—and more than 80 percent of the label claims were backed by no supporting evidence whatsoever.

"Based on the records provided by the department itself, it appears that USDA is merely rubber-stamping applications for these claims," Dena Jones, AWI's farm animal program manager and author of the report, said in the news release.

The USDA does offer guidance on the process of verifying such label claims. “Remember that you are dealing with a producer, farmer, and feedlot operator as opposed to plant management. They need to understand that the label is approved for use at a particular federally inspected establishment. It does not belong to the producer of the animals,” according to the agency’s guidance on animal production claims.

Over the past three years, AWI researched the USDA approval process for animal welfare and environmental claims, such as "humanely raised" and "sustainably farmed," focusing exclusively on claims that are not third-party certified. The claims appear on popular "natural" meat and poultry products sold by companies such as Applegate Farms, Crescent Foods, Empire Kosher, FreeBird, A&P's Mid-Atlantic Country Farms store brand, Niman Ranch, Petaluma Poultry, Plainville Farms and Kroger's Simple Truth store brand.

In February Kroger Co. was named in a lawsuit alleging that it organized a deceptive campaign to market products made from chicken from Perdue Farms as "cage-free" and raised in a "humane environment." Represented in part by animal activist group Compassion Over Killing, the plaintiff claimed that the supermarket chain misrepresented consumers by marketing its "Simple Truth" store brand of chicken as produced from chickens raised cage free in a humane environment. Kroger Co. has denied the alleged misbranding.

In a recent public opinion survey on meat labeling commissioned by AWI, almost 90 percent of consumers stated that producers should have to prove any claims like "humanely raised" and "sustainably farmed" on labels, while a majority of consumers believe that a brief statement from a producer is not acceptable proof of farming practices.

AWI has submitted a rulemaking petition requesting that USDA require independent third-party certification of humane and sustainable claims. "Until USDA makes significant changes to its approval process, consumers should be wary of any meat products whose label includes an animal welfare or environmental claim that is not accompanied by a statement or logo indicating an independent third party verified the claim," Jones said.

The use of animal welfare and sustainability claims has increased dramatically over the past decade, as consumers become more aware of the wellbeing of animals. “The public's interest in these claims makes them ripe for exploitation by companies wanting to lure consumers seeking an alternative to products from factory-farming systems,” according to a news release from AWI.

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