Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 10/5/16


Federal regulators have released an update on the documentation needed to win approval of animal-raising claims on labels before they can appear on meat products.

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) – which regulates labels on meat and poultry – wants more details on how claims such as “organic” or “raised without antibiotics” were achieved as animals were raised. The agency also wants to see documentation to support the claim to make sure the label is “truthful and not misleading,” the FSIS document notes in the Federal Register.

FSIS is accepting comments on the proposed update on or before Dec. 5, 2016.

The agency last updated compliance guidelines on animal-raising label claims in 2002 and the latest list includes such phrases as “grass-fed,” “free-range,” “raised without the use of hormones” and “vegetarian-fed.”

The FSIS announcement added that the list may include other phrases that meat and poultry companies might want to use on labels that eventually would receive the agency’s scrutiny before being approved.

For more stories, go to www.meatingplace.com.