Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 12/31/14


USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a final rule on label requirements for raw meat and poultry products that contain added solutions. It will take effect a year from now.

The final rule, “Descriptive Designation for Raw Meat and Poultry Products Containing Added Solutions” amends existing regulations to require the use of a descriptive designation as part of the product name on the labels of raw meat and poultry products that contain added solutions and that do not meet a standard of identity. It becomes effective Jan. 1, 2016.

The descriptive designation will have to include the percentage of added solution and the individual ingredients or multi-ingredient components in the solution listed in descending order of predominance by weight.

The print for all words in the product name, including the descriptive designation, must appear in a single easy-to-read type style and color and on a single-color contrasting background. The print may appear in upper and lower case letters, with the lower case letters not smaller than one-third the size of the largest letter. The percent solution must appear as a number (e.g., 15, 20, 30) with the percentage sign (%) and may be declared with the word “containing” or “contains.”

Under this final rule, the word “enhanced” is not allowed in the product name.

This final rule requires a descriptive designation as part of the product name, not as part of the common or usual name of the product. FSIS made this change to make clear that the descriptive designation is required to be part of the product name but does not need to be on the same line as the rest of the name.

The descriptive designation can be above, below or next to the product name (without intervening text or graphics) on the principle display panel. FSIS also made this change to make this labeling rule more consistent with the rule concerning the labeling of mechanically tenderized beef products.

The final rule will result in one-time costs to establishments and retail facilities that produce and package raw meat and poultry products that contain added solutions and that do not meet a standard of identity.

The regulation that prescribes that the product name appear with the lower case letters not smaller than one-third the size of the largest letter in the product name will be applicable on Jan. 1, 2018.

Background
FSIS first proposed changes to the labeling of these products on July 27, 2011, in response to two petitions that requested that the agency prevent consumers from being misled by the on-going marketing of added solution poultry products.

FSIS, in response to the petitions and after evaluating its experience in reviewing labels, determined that some added-solution product labels that follow current labeling guidance and comply with current regulations are misleading because they do not clearly and conspicuously show that the product contains an added solution.

FSIS determined that without updated labeling regulations that require the conspicuous labeling of the added solution, consumers likely cannot distinguish between raw single-ingredient products and similar raw products containing added solution.

Reaction
American Meat Institute Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Mark Dopp called the rule changes unnecessary.  

"Current rules require that these products’ labels provide the same type of information.This new rule rearranges how much of this information is provided and includes new labeling requirements that are unnecessary," Dopp said. "The rule stems from a petition filed by a few poultry companies who seek to gain market advantage and could result in the agency picking winners and losers in the marketplace. The meat industry is simply collateral damage in this attempt to gain market share.”

Tom Super, spokesman for the National Chicken Council said, "Consumers who want to know the individual ingredients in a marinade or solution added to raw poultry have had access to this information for years on product labels and will continue to have it available with this new rule."  

Center for Science in the Public Interest Executive Director Michael Jacobson, however, indicated he wished the final rule had gone further than it did.

In a statement, he said, “Ideally, USDA would have abandoned the word 'enhanced’ altogether.” USDA is barring the use of "enhanced" as part of product names, but it is still allowing it elsewhere on labels or in advertising.

Jacobson also noted USDA originally proposed requiring the "contains solution" statement to be printed in the same size type as the product name, but the final regulation requires the print to be only one-third the size.

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