The Department of Agriculture is cracking down on ‘antibiotic-free’ meat labels.
The USDA says it will collect samples from cattle that will be marketed to consumers as “raised without antibiotics” or labeled “no antibiotics ever” to make sure the marketing claims and labels are accurate.
The outcome of these tests will help the USDA decide whether lab-testing results should be part of the required documents to support claims made by farmers and food suppliers. The department plans to “strongly encourage” the use of third-party certification to back up marketing claims. Can you trust the label on your meat products? The answer appears to be most, but perhaps not all, of the time. Research published in the peer-reviewed journal Science last year found that up to 42% of “raised without antibiotics” cattle-slaughter facilities had at least one animal that tested positive for antibiotics. Researchers from George Washington University tested almost 700 cattle from 312 lots and 33 different “raised without antibiotics” facilities.
“Consumers should be able to trust that the label claims they see on products bearing the USDA mark of inspection are truthful and accurate,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a statement this week. At the moment, producers need to submit documents to the USDA to substantiate their labeling claims, but the department is not required to inspect each of them. Only labels with a “USDA Process Verified” seal received visits from USDA inspectors.
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