USDA to Define "Natural" in the Labeling of Meat and Poultry Products

The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that it will solicit further public comment as the USDA seeks to define the conditions under which it would permit the voluntary claim "natural" to be used in the labeling of meat and poultry products. The agency made the announcement through the publication of an "Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" (ANPR).

The USDA is seeking comments to clarify and resolve issues surrounding the "natural" claim, including how best to coordinate the FSIS' regulation of "natural" claims with the Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) voluntary "naturally raised" marketing claim standard.

The current FSIS policy states that the term "natural" may be used in the labeling of meat and poultry products provided that the product does not contain any artificial flavor or flavoring, coloring ingredients, chemical preservative, or any other artificial or synthetic ingredient and that the product is not more than "minimally processed." The current AMS policy states that "natural" means the meat must come from animals raised with no hormone growth promoters, no antibiotics, and no animal by-products.

The USDA believes that the just-released ANPR will facilitate the emergence of consensus on the meaning of "natural" and will allow the USDA to move quickly to a proposed rule. Simply put, we should combine all of the requirements from both the FSIS and the AMS and make that the new rule.

In October 2006, FSIS received a petition requesting that the USDA initiate rulemaking to establish a codified definition for the voluntary claim "natural" and to delineate the conditions under which the claim can be used on the labels of meat and poultry products. In December 2006, FSIS held a public meeting and requested comments on "natural" claims. FSIS received a high volume of comments that expressed divergent views on the use of the claim "natural" following the December 2006 public meeting. Therefore, FSIS is publishing an ANPR to solicit more focused comments on the issue. The ANPR requests comments on a number of issues related to the use of "natural" claims in the labeling of meat and poultry products.

For detailed description of these issues, please refer to the ANPR. During the ANPR process, FSIS will continue to apply its current "natural" claims policy described in the FSIS Food Standards and Labeling Policy Book.

Comments on the ANPR must be received by November 13, 2009. Comments can be sent to Docket Clerk, US Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, 5601 Sunnyside Ave, Room 2-2127, Beltsville, Md. 20705; or through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov; in the "Search for Open Regulations" box, select "Food Safety and Inspection Service" from the agency drop-down menu, and then click on "Submit." In the Docket ID column, select "FDMS Docket Number FSIS-2006-0040A to submit" or view public comments and to view supporting and related materials available electronically.

I'm pleased that the new USDA administration is taking on this issue, but you have to do you part too. Leave a comment for the USDA so that they can ensure that the definition of "natural" encompasses all that it should. But to always ensure that your meat is "natural," shop at your local farmers' markets and ask the farmer exactly how they raise their animals. I can guarantee they will be more than willing to tell you.