The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced new guidance that recommends strengthening the documentation supporting animal-rearing or environment-related claims on meat or poultry product labels.
“USDA will continue to deliver on its commitment to fair choices for farmers and consumers, and that means supporting transparency and high-quality standards,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “These updates will help level the playing field for businesses that use these claims honestly and ensure people can trust labels when they buy meat and poultry products.”
Animal raising claims, such as “raised without antibiotics,” “grass-fed,” and “free-range,” and environmental claims, such as “raised using regenerative farming practices” and “climate-friendly,” are voluntary marketing statements that highlight some aspect of how the animals from which meat and poultry products are sourced or how producers maintain or improve the land or otherwise implement environmentally sustainable practices. Documents submitted by companies in support of these claims are reviewed by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and only after the agency approves these claims can they be included on the labels of meat and poultry products sold to consumers.
FSIS last updated its guidance on these statements in 2019.
In the updated guidance, FSIS strongly encourages the use of third-party certification to substantiate animal-rearing or environmental claims. It says third-party certification of animal-rearing or environmental claims helps ensure that such claims are truthful and not misleading because independent organizations can verify that farms meet standards for animal rearing and environmental management. The revised guidance also emphasizes the need for stronger documentation for environmental and animal-rearing claims.
Additionally, the updated guidance recommends that facilities that use “negative” antibiotic claims (such as “raised without antibiotics” or “never given antibiotics”) implement routine sampling and testing programs to test animals for antibiotic use prior to slaughter, or obtain third-party certification that includes testing. The revisions were based on sampling data, petitions, public comments in response to those petitions, and feedback received from a broad range of stakeholders.
In light of concerns about negative claims about antibiotics, FSIS announced last year that it would collaborate with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) on a study to assess the veracity of these claims. FSIS collected liver and kidney samples from 196 eligible cattle from 84 slaughterhouses in 34 states, and ARS analyzed the samples using a method that targets more than 180 veterinary drugs, including all major antibiotic classes. The study found that approximately 20% of samples from “antibiotic-free” markets contained antibiotic residues.