This month FDA released its finalized labeling requirements for mechanically tenderized beef. The new measures were to go into effect in January 2018. However, intervention by another federal agency, as a result of consumer lobbying, has brought the requirement forwards by two years.
The new rule, the Faulty of Food Safety and Quality reports, requires the manufacturers to put labels on raw or partially cooked beef products in order to highlight the fact that the meat has been mechanically, blade or needle tenderized. In addition, the labels must include cooking instructions including internal temperature and any hold items so that the consumers will know how to safely prepare them.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the rule has been put in place because mechanical tenderization of beef poses health risks. To warn consumers about the types of products they are buying and to provide guidance on how to safely cook the products, the new labeling requirements are important steps in helping consumers become better informed.
The risk is that mechanical tenderization can transfer bacterial pathogens from the surface of the meat into the center. This means that such food needs cooking at high temperatures and for a prolonged period in order to be considered ‘safe.’ It is impossible to know whether the meat has been mechanically tenderized just by looking at it, therefore consumer advocates have been calling for a label. The process of artificially tenderizing meat is big business. Consumer Reports estimates, based on 2008 data, “that 37 percent of companies that slaughter or process beef use mechanical tenderization, producing more than 50 million pounds a month.”
Not everyone in the meat industry does not feel the labels are necessary. The initial labels proposed by USDA were seen as putting sales of mechanically tenderized meat at risk. After negotiation, meat industry representatives are more satisfied with the proposed outcome. Barry Carpenter, president and CEO of the North American Meat Institute told the Kansas City Star: “Data show that our proactive, food safety efforts have improved these products’ safety profile over the last several years.” He also added: “We will work with the Food Safety and Inspection Service to implement the new labeling requirement in the most effective manner for both industry and consumers.”
Because of the public health significance of this new label, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is has accelerated the effective date to become effective in May 2016. This will mean, however, that many of these meat products will remain ambiguous until the federal law comes into effect.
Commenting on the news, a consumer coalition led by the the Center for Foodborne Illness, told Food Safety News: “USDA’s new rule will better protect consumers from foodborne illness by providing them with accurate information about whether the steak they are buying has been mechanically tenderized and how to safely prepare it.”
