USDA Proposes Naturally Raised Marketing Claim Standard
The US Department of Agriculture has put forward proposals to introduce a voluntary standard for a naturally raised marketing claim for livestock and meat.
28 November 2007
2 minute read
The standard has been published as a Notice and Request for Comments in the Federal Register and is titled the U.S. Standards for Livestock and Meat Marketing Claims, Naturally Raised Claim for Livestock and the Meat and Meat Products Derived from such Livestock.
USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), which works with representatives of the various agricultural commodity marketing chains and others, sets down or revises U.S. standards for nearly 240 agricultural products to be used in the marketplace to specify the quality of commodities. Standards facilitate commerce by providing a common language for trade and a means of measuring value in marketing agricultural products.
AMS said that increasingly, livestock and meat producers are using production or processing claims to distinguish their products in the marketplace. Through its voluntary certification and audit programs, AMS verifies the accuracy of these claims. The proposed standard will establish the minimum requirements for those producers who choose to operate a USDA verified program involving a naturally raised claim. The naturally raised marketing claim will also be a voluntary program.
The request for comments was published in the 28 November Federal Register. Comments must be received on or before 28 January 2008, and should be submitted through the Web site at http://www.regulations.gov. Written comments should be mailed to: Naturally Raised Marketing Claim, Room 2607-S, AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-0254; or faxed to (202) 720-1112. All comments should reference docket number LS-07-16. Copies of the notice are available through the above physical address or by accessing the Web site at http://www.ams.usda.gov/lsg/stand/naturalclaim.htm.
TheCattleSite News Desk
