A new U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection (FSIS) rule, which was originally announced in a Federal Register notice published on December 29, 2010, will require nutrition labeling on the major cuts of single-ingredient, raw meat and poultry products and ground or chopped meat and poultry products unless one of several exemptions applies. This FSIS Final Rule recently went into effect in March 2012. Originally, the rule was to take effect on January 1 of this year; however, USDA officials delayed the effective date to allow the industry sufficient time to comply with the requirements.
The rule amends the Federal meat and poultry products inspection regulations, which previously required nutrition labels only on meat and poultry with added ingredients, such as marinade or stuffing. Under the new rule, packages of ground or chopped meat and poultry will be required to feature nutrition facts panels on their labels. In addition, whole, raw cuts of meat and poultry must now have nutrition facts panels either on their package labels or available for consumers at the point-of-purchase.
According to a press release from the FSIS:
The nutrition facts panels will include the number of calories and the grams of total fat and saturated fat a product contains. Additionally, any product that lists a lean percentage statement, such as “76% lean,” on its label also will list its fat percentage, making it easier for consumers to understand the amounts of lean protein and fat in their purchase. The panels should provide consumers with sufficient information at the store to assess the nutrient content of the major cuts, enabling them to select meat and poultry products that fit into a healthy diet that meets their family’s or their individual needs.
Since the final rule was published, FSIS has posted the final point-of-purchase materials and examples of nutrition facts panels for ground or chopped products on its website. In addition, the Agency has conducted many other education and outreach activities to assist retailers and Federal establishments in complying with the requirements of the final rule, such as posting a PowerPoint presentation that gives an overview of the requirements of the final rule, presenting information at meetings, and responding to questions from industry stakeholders about the regulations through askFSIS at http://askfsis.custhelp.com/.
According to Undersecretary for Food Safety Dr. Elisabeth Hagen, the new FSIS requirements will allow consumers to make more informed choices about the food they purchase without having a significant effect on their wallets. It is estimated that implementation of these labeling requirements will add less than a half penny a pound to the cost of ground meat and poultry.