Currently, chicken flavored "artificially or preserved with chemicals" cannot be labeled with the term "natural." According to a FSIS meat and poultry labeling fact sheet, only "a product containing no artificial ingredient or added color and is only minimally processed (a process which does not fundamentally alter the raw product) may be labeled natural."
FSIS, "agreed to take another look at its policy after some producers, politicians and health advocates noted that about one-third of chicken sold in the U.S. was injected with additives that could represent up to 15 percent of the meat's weight, doubling or tripling its sodium content." Some suggest that allowing additives with these sodium levels is misleading to consumers.
Tyson and Pilgrim's Pride, the two largest chicken processors, use the "natural" label while injecting additional salt and water into chicken. Tyson spokesman, Gary Mickelson, said that the company "sponsored a national study that found most consumers didn't mind those labels if the ingredients added were deemed natural."
Perdue, the third largest poultry producer, has argued for the change in labeling guidelines, saying that its labels only say "natural" if there is nothing added to the chicken.
To read the Associated Press story, click here.
For the FSIS Food Labeling Fact Sheet on Meat and Poultry terms, click here.
Posted: 07/30/2010
