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Nutrition
Labeling Proposed for Raw Meat and Poultry Products Summary
Nutrition
Labeling: The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food
Safety and Inspection Service is proposing to extend mandatory nutrition
labeling to single-ingredient raw meat and poultry products, which
are currently covered only under the voluntary nutrition labeling
program.
Nutrition information for major cuts such as chicken
breasts, whole turkeys, and steaks would be required either on
their labels or at their point of purchase. Nutrition information
for ground or chopped products such as ground beef, pork, and
turkey would be required on package labels.
Extending mandatory nutrition labeling to these
products will help consumers make food purchasing decisions that
may help to improve diet quality.
The
proposal also would allow industry to continue to use the "percent
lean" nutrient content claim for ground or chopped meat or
poultry products that do not meet the criteria for low fat. Many
ground and chopped products have difficulty meeting the criteria
for "low fat."
The
proposal will publish in the Federal Register on Jan. 18. Comments
should be sent by April 18 to the FSIS Docket Clerk, Docket 98-005P,
Food Safety and Inspection Service, Room 102, Cotton Annex, 300
12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20250-3700. Comments received
will be available for public viewing in the FSIS Docket Room from
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Background:
The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 required nutrition
labeling of most foods regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.
On January 6, 1993, FSIS published final regulations requiring
comparable nutrition labeling requirements, with certain exemptions,
for multi-ingredient and heat processed meat and poultry products
such as hot dogs and luncheon meats.
FSIS
also established guidelines for voluntary nutrition labeling of
single-ingredient, raw meat and poultry products, including those
that are ground and chopped. Retailers and manufacturers voluntarily
provide nutrition information on the labels of these products
or at their point-of-purchase.
The
final regulations published by FSIS also specified that the Agency
would evaluate the participation of retailers in the voluntary
program every two years to determine if participation was adequate.
If
participation fell below 60 percent, the Agency indicated it would
initiate rulemaking to require nutrition labeling for these products.
The two most recent surveys show that less than 60 percent of
companies evaluated are providing nutrition information for the
major cuts of single-ingredient, raw products. The 1996 figure
was 57.7 percent, and the 1999 figure was 54.8 percent.
The
Proposal: 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.
The
nutrition label would be comparable to that which appears on products
today. The proposed requirements for the labels of major cuts
are consistent with the current provisions of the voluntary nutrition
labeling program, and the proposed requirements for the labels
of ground or chopped products are consistent with the requirements
for the labels on multi-ingredient or heat processed products.
For
example, FSIS is proposing that the nutrition information on labels
of the major cuts be calculated on an "as packaged"
or "as consumed" basis, while nutrition information
of labels of ground or chopped products would be calculated on
an "as packaged" basis.
Nutrition
Labeling: SAMPLE LABEL IN CURRENT FORMAT
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