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The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is amending its labeling regulations to expand the categories of meat and poultry product labels that it will deem generically approved and thus not required to be submitted to FSIS. These reforms will reduce the regulatory burden on producers seeking to bring products to market, as well as the Agency costs expended to evaluate the labels.

Statement of Need:

This action is needed to reduce the regulatory burden on producers seeking to bring products to market, as well as the Agency costs expended to evaluate the labels. Based on FSIS experience evaluating the labels in question and the ability of inspection personnel to verify labeling in the field, FSIS anticipates this action will have no impact on food safety or the accuracy of meat and poultry product labeling.

Summary of the Legal Basis:

The Acts direct the Secretary of Agriculture to maintain meat and poultry inspection programs designed to assure consumers that these products are safe, wholesome, not adulterated, and properly marked, labeled, and packaged. Section 7(d) of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 607(d)) states: No article subject to this title shall be sold or offered for sale by any person, firm, or corporation, in commerce, under any name or other marking or labeling which is false or misleading, or in any container of a misleading form or size, but established trade names and other marking and labeling and containers which are not false or misleading and which are approved by the Secretary are permitted. The Poultry Products Inspection Act contains similar language in section 21 U.S.C. 457(c).

Alternatives:

FSIS considered three alternatives to the proposed rule: taking no action, adopting the current proposal except with continued evaluation of labels that would otherwise be generically approved, and allowing all labels to be generically approved.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

There are no additional costs to industry, or the Agency associated with this rule. FSIS will continue to verify that product labels, including those that are generically approved, are truthful and not misleading and otherwise comply with FSIS’s requirements.

This rule is expected to reduce the number of labels industry is required to submit to FSIS for evaluation by approximately 35 percent. Establishments will realize a cost savings because they will no longer need to incur costs for submitting certain types of labels to FSIS for evaluation (e.g., preparing a printer’s proof). In addition, streamlining the evaluation process for specific types of labels would allow a faster introduction of products into the marketplace by reducing wait times for label approvals.

FSIS will also benefit from a reduction in the number of labels submitted to it for review. FSIS will be able to reallocate staff hours from evaluating labels towards the development of labeling policy.