Source: MEATINGPLACE, 3/23/16

Several agriculture and consumer organizations have formally asked USDA to issue updated guidance for product labels that use the term grass-fed.

The group, which includes the American Grassfed Association, Consumer Federation of America and National Farmers Union, wants the guidance at minimum to require that producers comply with grass-fed label standards set by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) in 2006 but revoked in January.

Revoking the standards has led to confusion in the marketplace, the coalition said in a letter to USDA Deputy Undersecretary Alfred Almanza. The letter urged USDA to provide clear direction and resist calls to “cheapen” grass-fed labeling claims.

When it withdrew its standards, AMS said it had determined that it did not have the authority to define the term grass-fed. It said that responsibility lies with USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

An AMS official told Meatingplace at the time that companies could simply use their own standards going forward, and AMS would verify whether they were meeting them. The option of using the AMS standard was always voluntary.

In their letter to USDA, the farm and consumer organizations said almost all livestock is grass-fed to some extent, but forage-to-grain ratios differ.

“Percentage claims, such as 80 percent grass-fed or 90 percent grass-fed, would mislead consumers and dilute the meaning of the term grass-fed to an extent that would threaten the livelihood of the farmers and ranchers who created the grass-fed market,” the group wrote.

The letter was also signed by the Center for Rural Affairs, Consumer Reports, CROPP Cooperative/Organic Valley, Food Animal Concerns Trust, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, and Western Organization of Resource Councils.

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