Five members of Congress, four Republicans and one Democrat, have joined together in comments to USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service on a petition filed nearly one year ago by Perdue Farms.
The petition requests that FSIS conduct rule-making to define separate “free range” and “pasture-raised” claims for meat and poultry products. The petition also requests that FSIS update its guidance on claims related to living/raising conditions to ensure that the claims align with consumer expectations.
The petition is pending in the FSIS Office of Policy and Program Development for review and has been assigned petition number 23-03.
“Many of us represent districts that include family farms and egg producers who supply nutritious, quality egg products to American consumers,” the congressmen wrote.
The five commenting congressmen are Rep. Mark Alford, R-MO; Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-TX; Rep. Jason Smith, R-MO; Rep. Eric A “Rick” Crawford, R-AR; and Rep. James R. Baird, R-IN.
“As you know, Petition 23-03 requests that FSIS conduct rule-making to define separate “free range” and “pasture-raised” claims for poultry products and to update its guidance on claims related to living/raising conditions to ensure that the claims align with consumer expectations,” they wrote. “As USDA evaluates the petition and considers policy changes, we ask that the Department establish a robust stakeholder input process to ensure no unintended consequences. Changing the requirements for individual marketing claims will have both upstream and downstream economic impacts on production practices, retail opportunities, and input requirements.”
The bipartisan commenters continued to say: “Changes in FSIS animal raising claim requirements must also be considered in consultation with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since a policy shift could also impact FDA regulated products (e.g., dairy and shell eggs). In considering Petition 23-03, we ask that the Department contemplates whether the requested policy changes will disproportionately advantage or disadvantage certain groups, whether the request may cause harm to competition, and evaluate consumer understanding of the proposed terms.”
“Accordingly,” they add, “we strongly recommend that if FSIS chooses to take action, the Agency do so through an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule-making to facilitate complete engagement from stakeholders including producers, processors, retailers, certifiers, trade associations, and others on this issue.”
In another new comment, Vanessa Rose, co-owner of Leaping Bear Farm in Vermont, filed comments supporting the Perdue Farms petition. She said she “hopes the USDA and FSIS will take this matter seriously.”
“Many consumers are being misled into believing they are buying chicken, eggs, and other poultry products from a production model that guarantees the birds are actually on pasture,” she wrote.
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