FSIS Issues Revised Compliance Guidelines For Animal Raising Claims

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a revised compliance guideline for substantiating animal raising claims on labels for meat and poultry products.¹ This updated guideline expands and, in some cases, modifies FSIS's written policies on animal raising claims made on meat and poultry products. The guideline addresses both how claims should be phrased (including necessary qualifiers or explanatory text) and what type of information the establishment must include with the label application. Although FSIS policy has remained generally consistent at a high level from the previous guideline, FSIS has indicated that it expects certain claims to include additional or updated explanatory statements. It will be important for companies making animal raising claims to review their current labels and claims to evaluate whether changes will be required and to determine an appropriate process for doing so. Companies should