USDA takes aim at ‘grass-fed’ and other humane meat labeling claims

Dive Brief:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday it is considering more stringent rules around which meat products can display "grass-fed," "free-range" or other labels claiming humane animal-raising practices.
The agency's Food Safety Inspection Service will revise industry guidelines and encourage companies to strengthen documentation and use third-party verification to substantiate animal-raising claims. FSIS will also start randomly sampling cattle set to be labeled "raised without antibiotics” to determine whether laboratory testing should be required for use of the label.
The USDA said the new measures from its food safety arm will help inform potential future rulemaking. The agency has weathered criticism over the years that lax enforcement has allowed companies to mislead consumers and unjustly raise prices.

Dive Insight:

Producers are required to substantiate claims that an animal was humanely raised, though critics say the agency isn’t thorough in investigating whether submitted documentation is accurate.

A 2020 Office of the Inspector General report estimated approximately 15% of labels approved by FSIS were based on documentation that was either incomplete or inaccurate. Smaller farmers and animal welfare advocates argue misleading labeling claims can allow major producers to charge higher prices while avoiding the cost involved with verifying humane practices.

"USDA is taking action today to ensure the integrity of animal-raising claims and level the playing field for producers who are truthfully using these claims, which we know consumers value and rely on to guide their meat and poultry purchasing decisions," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement.

The potential for new rulemaking comes as part of the Biden administration's push to address rising food prices and consolidation, particularly within the meat industry. A 2021 executive order from President Joe Biden directed the USDA to promote competition in part by considering rules on labeling.

In March, the USDA proposed new requirements tightening rules around the use of "Made in USA" or “Product of USA” labels. The rule would ensure the claims are used only when meat, poultry or egg products are derived from animals born, raised, slaughtered and processed in the United States.

More companies have made claims about their animal raising practices, with FSIS' Labeling and Program Delivery Staff receiving more than 200 applications a week in fiscal year 2019. Greg Gunthorp, owner of artisan processor Gunthorp Farms, said the increased use of animal-raising claims among larger companies has undercut his ability to compete.

"The big guys co-op every single thing that we produce nowadays, whether that's 'natural,' whether that's 'grass-fed,' whether that's 'Product of USA,'" Gunthorp said Tuesday before a House Judiciary committee hearing on regulatory barriers to entry in the meat processing industry. "Those same big companies dominate all of these markets, and they dominate them without the production [practices] we have."