Tag Archives: MEAT

New Nebraska Bill Defining Meat as Derived from Livestock or Poultry

Posted on
Last week, we blogged about Nebraska Legislative Bill 14 (LB 14), which would have limited the use of the term “meat” to the edible portions of livestock or poultry carcasses.  It would have specifically excluded insect- or plant-based products as well as lab-grown products from the definition.  Under the proposed bill, engaging in any misleading … Continue Reading

Nebraska Bill Defines Meat as Derived from Livestock or Poultry

Posted on
Introduced January 10, 2019, Nebraska Legislative Bill 14 would prohibit “misrepresenting a product as meat that is not derived from livestock or poultry.” The bill, which was referred to the Agriculture Committee on January 14, was introduced by Sen. Carol Blood. “I’m not bringing this bill to tell people what they can and can’t eat. All … Continue Reading

USDA Secretary Signals USDA Role Over Animal Cell Culture Technology Regulation Ahead of Joint USDA-FDA Meeting

Posted on
As previously reported on this blog, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that they will hold a joint meeting on October 23-24, 2018, to discuss the use of cell culture technology to develop products derived from livestock and poultry. The meeting will focus on potential hazards, regulatory … Continue Reading

USDA and FDA Announce Joint Meeting on Animal Cell Culture Technology

Posted on
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that they will hold a joint meeting on October 23-24, 2018, to discuss the use of cell culture technology to develop products derived from livestock and poultry. As we previously reported on this blog, FDA held a public meeting on … Continue Reading

GFI and Others Sue Missouri over Plant-Based and Clean Meat Labeling Law

Posted on
The Good Food Institute (GFI), the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, and Turtle Island Foods (Tofurky brand) sued the state of Missouri over a new law, Mo. Rev. Stat. § 265.494(7), which prohibits labeling a product that is not derived from harvested production livestock or poultry as meat. The … Continue Reading

Groups Petition FSIS to Change “Product of the USA” Policy

Posted on
The Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) and American Grassfed Association (AGA) have petitioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to change its standard for making a “Product of the USA” claim on meat and meat products. Currently, FSIS allows the statement “Product of USA” if either (1) the country to which the product is … Continue Reading

USDA Issues Guidelines Regarding Livestock Slaughter and Processing Inspection Exemptions

Posted on
On May 24, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a guideline: FSIS Guideline for Determining Whether a Livestock Slaughter or Processing Firm is Exempt from the Inspection Requirements of the Federal Meat Inspection Act.  Absent an exemption, all establishments where cattle, goat, swine, or sheep are slaughtered … Continue Reading

Missouri Considers Plant-Based Meat Labeling Bill

Posted on
The Missouri House approved a bill that would ban companies from labeling lab-grown meat products or meat substitutes as meat (St. Louis Post Dispatch). The labeling proposal is included in House Committee Bill 16, which passed the House by a vote of 107 to 38 on April 26, 2018. Now before the state Senate, the … Continue Reading

USCA petitions USDA for Labeling Alternative Beef Products

Posted on
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) regulates the quality, safety, and labeling of meat, poultry, and egg products marketed in the United States.  Recently, alternative meat products (known as “clean” meat) produced by culturing cells have become an increasingly hot topic. On February 9, 2018, the United States Cattlemen’s … Continue Reading

Canadian Study Identifies Off-Label Meat in 1 in 5 Sausages

Posted on
Funded by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), University of Guelph researchers have conducted the first-ever Canadian study examining sausage mislabeling. The study examined 100 sausages that were labeled as containing just one ingredient — beef, pork, chicken or turkey. Published on July 31, 2017 in Food Control, the study found cross-species contamination of meat ingredients in … Continue Reading

Pew Study Assesses Food Safety Efforts from Farm to Fork

Posted on
A Pew Charitable Trusts study released this month examines “preharvest” food safety control measures currently used on farms and feedlots and concludes that efforts to reduce contamination of meat and poultry products from harmful pathogens requires a comprehensive “farm to fork” approach. The study specifically examined food safety control measures designed to limit exposure on … Continue Reading

Cattle Producers Sue USDA to Reinstate COOL

Posted on
As previously covered on this blog, in 2013, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) implemented country of origin labeling (COOL) rules, requiring meat labels to indicate where animals were born, raised, and slaughtered.  Meatpacking and livestock commodity groups in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico challenged the COOL requirements via appeal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and … Continue Reading

CSPI Petitions USDA for Cancer-Risk Warning Labels on Meat

Posted on
For years, researchers have debated the link between the consumption of red meat and cancer.  On October 26, 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) took what is perhaps the most definitive and aggressive position thus far by any health organization on this hot-button issue, announcing that, based on a 22-member expert panel’s analysis of more … Continue Reading

Will COOL Make a Come Back?

Posted on
As previously covered on this blog, mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) rules for beef products have long been the subject of controversy and challenge, culminating in a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that the COOL requirements violate U.S. trade obligations to Canada and Mexico and Congress repealing COOL as of December 21, 2015. With a … Continue Reading

California Provision Goes Slack

Posted on
Federal law preempts California slack fill challenges for USDA-regulated products. Under the California Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, companies can be challenged for including “nonfunctional slack fill” in product packaging.  Slack fill is the empty space between products and their packaging, and the goal of California’s requirements is to prevent consumer deception when products are … Continue Reading

“Grass Fed” Gone?

Posted on
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service withdraws the standards for “grass fed” and “naturally raised” marketing claims The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the USDA provides the livestock and meat industries with an option to voluntarily have marketing claims covered by AMS standards verified by the USDA, and to identify such claims as “USDA Certified”.  AMS established standards … Continue Reading

USDA Beefs Up Product Tracing

Posted on
USDA issues final rule imposing new recordkeeping requirements on beef producers to improve traceability. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) regulates the safety of meat products in the United States.  In recent years, FSIS has struggled with limits on its ability to trace the source of foodborne illness outbreaks involving … Continue Reading

Tariff Trouble

Posted on
WTO authorizes Canada and Mexico to impose over $1 billion in retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products related to country of origin labeling dispute. As previously covered on this blog, the U.S. has been dealing with the aftermath of a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) requirements unfairly discriminate against … Continue Reading

Processed Meat Takes Heat

Posted on
WHO announces causal link between consumption of processed meats and cancer. For years, researchers have debated the link between the consumption of red meat and cancer.  For instance, the American Cancer Society’s position is that some studies indicate “a link” between eating red meat and increased risk of colorectal cancer, but the group has not … Continue Reading

Mystery Meat

Posted on
DNA bar coding used to detect mislabeled meat. “DNA bar coding” made headlines earlier this year when the New York Attorney General’s office launched a probe into major retailers and alleged that herbal supplements sold in their stores did not contain the ingredients represented on the product labels.  Many discussed and debated the utility of DNA … Continue Reading

COOL Cash Cow

Posted on
USTR indicates that COOL damages are much lower than Canada and Mexico estimated. As previously covered on this blog, the U.S. government continues to develop strategies to cope with the aftermath of a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) requirements unfairly discriminate against meat imports.  Because COOL requirements are … Continue Reading
LexBlog

We and our analytics and advertising providers may use cookies and similar technologies to enhance the browsing experience, facilitate sharing of content, and generate statistics about use of the website. For more information or to change your preferences, click here.

I Agree