Consumers are confronted with a sometimes bewildering array of labels on food, often with similar wording. To a typical consumer, is there any distinction between the USDA-approved terms of “natural” and “naturally raised?” Probably not. But the first term deals only with how a product is processed, if at all, and the second deals with how an animal is produced. How about “grass-fed” and “grass finished?” The USDA has a definition for grass-fed and so does the American Grass-fed Association, which is much more detailed and restrictive. There is no specific definition for grass finished.
A current publication lists 84 terms shown on labels. Of those, 48 have no legal or regulated definition and 8 have independent third-party certification. Some terms would be familiar to anybody raising cattle, such as those dealing with USDA quality grade. Many deals with animal welfare or environmental topics and others address things perceived by some to affect health, other than official inspection for safety and wholesomeness.
Today, there are numerous terms and claims used to promote and label the food we buy. While some of these terms and claims have definitions that are controlled by government regulation, most are unregulated and are widely used by companies to attract buyers to their products.
Another challenge in trusting many common labels is the lack of accountability in so-called ‘self-made’ claims. Without independent third-party verification the integrity of a label claim is only as reliable as the person or company making it.
Listed below are some of the terms/definitions found on food labels:
Angus/certified Angus beef
No legal or regulated definition
The American Angus Association has registered a definition of “Angus” beef with the USDA that requires the animal to have 50 percent Angus genetics or a predominantly (51 percent) black coat or hide. The animal must be under 30 months at slaughter and meet some additional meat quality requirements. There are no requirements relating to how the animal is raised. The terms “Angus Beef” and “Black Angus Beef” are also commonly used but are even less regulated than Certified Angus Beef
CAGE -FREE
No legal or regulated definition
This term is most often applied to egg laying hens, not to poultry raised for meat. As the term implies, hens laying eggs labeled as “cage-free” are raised without using cages, but almost always live inside barns or warehouses. This term does not explain if the birds had any access to the outside, whether any outside area was pasture or a bare lot, or if theywere raised entirely indoors in overcrowded conditions. Beak cutting is permitted. No independent third party verification.
CERTIFIED NATURALLY GROWN
No legal or regulated definition
Certified Naturally Grown is a non-profit organization offering certification programs tailored for small-scale, direct-market farmer sand beekeepers using natural methods. Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) products are certified as having been produced in approximate accordance with national organic standard. This term is modeled on Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS). PGS programs differ from third party inspector models like the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) in that they employ a peer-review inspection process built on
CU RED
Definition by US Food and Drug Administration
Meat and poultry are cured by the addition of salt alone or in combination with one or more ingredients such as sodium nitrite, sugar, curing accelerators, and spices. These are used for partial preservation, flavoring, color enhancement, tenderizing and improving yield of meat. The process may include dry curing, immersion curing, direct addition, or injection of the curing ingredients. Curing mixtures are typically composed of salt (sodium chloride), sodium nitrite, and seasonings. Cured meat and poultry products include bacon, beef jerky, smoked turkey, sausages, corned beef, pastrami, pig’s feet and corned tongues.
GRASSFED
Definition by USDA
100% of the diet of grass-fed animals consists of freshly grazed pasture during the growing season and stored grasses (hay or grass silage) during the winter months or drought conditions.
This term refers only to the diet of cattle, sheep, goats, and bison. It does not indicate if an animal has been given access to pasture, or if it has been raised in a feedlot and/or given antibiotics or hormones. The USDA definition goes on to state that “if for environmental or health of the animal reasons supplementation can be used if the producer logs the type and amount.” Hence, feedlot cattle could be fed harvested forage and supplements, antibiotics and synthetic hormones and still bear the USDA grass-fed label. The American Grass-fed Association (AGA) has an independent third party certification program available to ranchers. The AGA certified program is recognized by FSIS (the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service) and verifies a 100 percent forage diet, raised on pasture that has a minimum of 75 percent cover, no confinement, no antibiotics and no added hormones. Meat purchasers seeking truly grass-fed meat should source AGA certified products.
