Mandatory Meat Labeling Expanded

January 15, 2001

USDA has proposed expanding nutrition labeling requirements for meat and poultry, providing consumers with more information about fat, calorie, and cholesterol content. Under the proposed rule, nutrition information for major cuts of single ingredient products such as steaks, pork tenderloin, and chicken and turkey meats will be required either on the label by the manufacturer or by the retailer at the point of purchase.

The proposed nutritional labeling requirements for raw ground beef and chicken are comparable to existing requirements for multi-ingredient products such as sausage, luncheon meat, ground pork with seasonings, and bacon. Multi-ingredient products already require nutritional labeling on product packages. They also allow a lean percentage statement on the labels when these products do not meet low fat labeling criteria.

USDA's latest action stems from the voluntary nutrition labeling regulation that stipulates if less than 60% of companies are voluntarily providing this information, USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service is to initiate rule-making to require nutrition labeling. In the last two surveys in 1996 and 1999, less than 60 percent of the companies evaluated were found to be participating in the voluntary nutrition labeling program.

The proposed rule will be published in the Jan. 18 Federal Register. Comments are due by April 18. For more information, visit http://www.fsis.usda.gov.

Specifically, FSIS is proposing to require nutrition information on product labels or point-of-purchase materials for major cuts of single-ingredient, raw meat and poultry products such as chicken breasts, turkeys, or steaks. The proposal also requires nutrition labeling on the packages of all ground or chopped meat and poultry products, such as hamburger, ground beef, ground beef patties, ground chicken, ground turkey, and ground chicken patties.

Certain exemptions would apply to these requirements. Small businesses that qualify for the existing small business exemption from nutrition labeling requirements would be exempt from nutrition labeling requirements for ground or chopped products. However, the small business exemption would not apply to the major cuts of single-ingredient, raw products.

For the major cuts of meat and poultry products, nutrition information could be provided either on the package or at their point-of-purchase because consumers have reasonable expectations as to the nutrient content of these products. For ground or chopped products, however, nutrition labeling would be required on the package. Point-of-purchase labeling would not be permitted for ground or chopped products in order to make the nutrition labeling requirements for these products consistent with those for multi-ingredient and heat processed products, which have been covered under mandatory nutrition labeling requirements since 1993.

Single-ingredient, raw ground or chopped meat and poultry products differ from other single-ingredient, raw meat and poultry products because, in these products, certain parameters, such as their fat content, can be controlled precisely to obtain the desired product. In addition, FSIS has found that the nutrient and fat content of ground or chopped products varies so significantly that, without labeling, consumers could not assess the nutritional quality of these products to make informed comparisons.

In response, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) said it is proud of its leadership role in providing nutritional information about beef to consumers and remains committed to keeping nutrition information available through the most effective and efficient means.

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture's nutrition labeling proposal will provide an opportunity for government, industry and consumer groups to work together to develop a program that will give meaningful nutrition information to consumers. NCBA will review the proposal closely and provide comment. It is important to note that we do support labeling programs that include essential nutrient information for meat, fish and poultry products so that consumers can make informed choices," the association said in a statement.