USDA’s Controversial Updated Meat and Poultry Labeling Guidelines

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The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) expresses deep dismay at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) recently unveiled revised meat and poultry labeling guidelines, which it perceives as a significant step backward for animal welfare. The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)? Despite the USDA’s assurances that these revisions will safeguard consumers against deceptive labeling, AWI contends that the guidelines are insufficient, particularly in their failure to require independent third-party verification for claims such as “humanely raised” and “raised without antibiotics.”

Zack Strong, Acting Director and Senior Attorney for AWI’s Farmed Animal Program, concedes that the revised guidelines represent a modest step forward, yet still fall short of ensuring companies cannot make unsubstantiated welfare assertions. As consumers scrutinize labels like ‘humanely raised’, they assume a higher standard of animal welfare, expecting conditions significantly improved from the typical industrial norm. According to Strong, the USDA permits companies to create their own interpretations without facing consequences.

Throughout the past decade, AWI has persistently brought attention to the problem of deceptive labeling in its numerous reports. The majority of producers are found to be making unsubstantiated assertions, thereby permitting themselves to command premium rates while failing to substantively enhance animal well-being.

Despite mounting pressure from lawmakers and advocacy groups, the FSIS has made only token adjustments in response to these concerns. Although the term “pasture-raised” has undergone clarification, the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) remains ambiguous regarding verification protocols for manufacturers, leaving room for uncertainty in their claims of adherence. Companies are merely encouraged, rather than mandated, to verify the authenticity of “raised without antibiotics” claims, despite evidence from recent FSIS testing suggesting that a substantial percentage of cattle bearing this label actually contain antibiotic residues.