North American Meat Institute Tells USDA, HHS More Time Needed For Comments on Dietary Guidelines Report
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
The North American Meat Institute (NAMI) today
formally requested an extension on the comment
period for the Scientific Report of the 2015
Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee from 45
days to 120 days.
“To provide a thorough and meaningful review
and comment, which has been encouraged by the
agencies, a 120-day comment period is
appropriate,” said NAMI Vice President of
Scientific Affairs Betsy Booren, Ph.D.
According to Booren, the Dietary Guidelines
Advisory Committee (DGAC) spent nearly two
years reviewing the body of the evidence to
formulate the report. Providing interested
stakeholders a mere 45 days to review the
571-page report as well as the entire Nutrition
Evidence Library does not allow adequate time
for thorough review and input.
“The agencies have encouraged a transparent
collaborative process, yet a limited time for
review does not allow for such a process. Such
a short comment period runs the risk of
appearing to exclude meaningful comment,”
Booren said. “The 120-day comment period will
provide the most insightful response to the
DGAC report, which will be useful as the
agencies develop the final policy.”
Last week, the Meat Institute registered strong
concerns about the committee’s contradictory
recommendations to eat lower amounts of red and
processed meat while at the same time saying in
a footnote that lean meat can be part of a
healthy, balanced diet. The Institute also
objected to the Advisory Committee’s focus on
sustainability, which is outside the
committee’s charter.
"Lean meat's relegation to a footnote ignores
the countless studies and data that the
Committee reviewed for the last two years that
showed unequivocally that meat and poultry are
among the most nutrient dense foods available,"
said NAMI President and CEO Barry Carpenter in
a statement last week. "Lean meat is a
headline, not a footnote," he added.
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