On December 31, 2014, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a final rule requiring the use of descriptive designations as part of the product name on the labels of raw meat and poultry products that contain added solutions and do not meet a standard of identity. The rule impacts retailers and official establishments. The descriptive designation must include the percentage of added solution, and the individual ingredients or multi-ingredient components in the solution listed in descending order of predominance by weight. The print for all words in the product name, including in the descriptive designation, must appear in a single easy-to-read type style and color on a single-color contrasting background. The print may appear in upper and lowercase letters, with the lower case letters not smaller than one-third the size of the largest letter. The percent solution must appear as a number with the percentage sign (e.g. 15%) and may be declared with the word “containing” or “contains” among other specified terms. The word “enhanced” is not permitted in the product name. FSIS is also removing the standard of identity regulation for “ready-to-cook poultry products to which solutions are added” (9 CFR 381.169).
Please see this Lieberman PLLC Regulatory Alert for more information. Please contact Erik Lieberman at erl1@liebermanpllc.com or 202.830.0300 for additional information.
