US meat safety labelling implementation pushed to 2018

The amendment of US Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) for the labelling of raw meat and poultry products will not be implemented for at least the next three years due to the government missing its deadline.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been working on new mandatory labels for beef that is mechanically tenderised.

Tenderisation is a process that softens meat with tools and devices. Unsoftened meat is often susceptible to pathogens that can lead to foodborne illnesses.

The suggestion for the amendment was initially proposed in mid-2013. According to the proposal, manufacturers would require to label their meat products with specific cooking instructions.

As the labelling rule was not finalised by 31 December 2014, it will now not take effect before 2018 according to FSIS requirements.

Had the deadline been met, the rule could have been implemented as early as next year.

Recently, the US experienced a series of foodborne illnesses that have been connected to mechanically tenderised beef, including the 2012 outbreak of E coli O157:H7 in Canada from XL Foods, which led to the largest beef recall in Canadian history.

However, the meat industry has been opposing the amendment, claiming that that meat does not pose a significant risk and that special cooking instructions are not required.

North American Meat Institute senior vice-president and general counsel Mark Dopp was quoted by Agri-Pulse as saying: "We have long believed and communicated to USDA that the proposed rule is unnecessary. This is a solution in search of a problem because the industry has taken steps to address concerns that may have existed several years ago."

---

Image: Meat safety labelling delayed. Photo courtsey of Mister GC via freedigitalphotos.net.