Washington, DC – The
American Meat Institute (AMI) today called for
mandatory nutrition information in supermarkets
for cuts of fresh meat and poultry
products.
Citing meat’s positive
nutrition profile and consumers’ interest in
healthy diets, AMI President and CEO J. Patrick
Boyle said the information would help consumers
make informed purchases.
“Meat and
poultry companies have provided nutrition
information about their products for the past
decade,” Boyle said. “We support providing
the same kind of information about fresh cuts
at the point-of-purchase in
supermarkets.”
In comments submitted
to FSIS today, AMI supported the agency’s
proposal to mandate nutrition information for
fresh cuts of meat and poultry at the
point-of-purchase (i.e. supermarkets),
but expressed concerns about the cost and
accuracy of on-package nutrition labeling for
ground or chopped, single-ingredient raw meat
and poultry products. AMI supports the
continued use of percent fat/percent lean
labeling on ground products.
FSIS’s
nutrition labeling proposal would require
on-package nutrition labels on all ground or
chopped meat and poultry products. It also
would continue the current practice of using
percent fat/percent lean labels on ground
products. The proposal would require nutrition
information in the form of signs or brochures
at the point-of-purchase for single-ingredient
whole muscle cuts.
Representing the beef
industry, AMI worked with the livestock and
supermarket industries and USDA in the 1980s to
develop “Meat NutriFacts,” a
voluntary in-store nutrition information
program for fresh meats. The program has been
expanded to include other products and has been
widely used in supermarkets. AMI believes
point-of-purchase information, such as posters
and brochures, for the 45 major cuts of meat
and poultry is the best way to present
nutrition information and is better than on
package labels. Regarding on-package labeling,
AMI said, “Because there are more than 3,300
cuts of beef alone (when you differentiate
among products of different grades and trim
levels) sold at retail, it would be extremely
difficult to label each product from every
species with nutrition
information.”
On-package labeling for
ground meat and poultry products, which FSIS
also proposed, creates a similar dilemma.
Seventy-five percent of ground or chopped fresh
meat and poultry is ground from trimmings by
supermarkets. Retailers do not have the
equipment necessary to determine accurately the
nutrient content of the finished product.
Accurate labels can be placed on ground
products only at the packing plant on
individual case-ready packages.
A March
2001 Wirthlin Worldwide study indicates that
consumers do understand the percent fat/percent
lean labeling currently used on ground or
chopped products. Therefore, AMI recommended
retailers continue providing this information
as consumers understand and use this
information to make purchases.
AMI
represents the interests of packers and
processors of beef, pork, lamb, veal and turkey
products and their suppliers throughout North
America. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the
Institute provides legislative, regulatory and
public relations services, conducts scientific
and economic research, offers marketing and
technical assistance and sponsors education
programs.
AMI Supports Mandatory In-Store Nutrition Information for Fresh Meat and Poultry Products
Tuesday, July 17, 2001
For more information contact:
Janet Riley Vice President, Public Affairs 703-841-2400 jriley@meatinstitute.org |
Josee Daoust Manager, Public Affairs 703-841-2400 jdaoust@meatinstitute.org |

