REPRESENTATIVES DeLAURO and FARR ENCOURAGE USDA TO LABEL ‘LEAN FINELY TEXTURED BEEF’ Products

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Washington, DC— Representatives Rosa DeLauro (CT-3), Ranking Member on the Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, and Representative Sam Farr (CA-17), Ranking Member on the Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, called on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Vilsack to improve the transparency of labels so consumers can make informed purchase decisions.

Representatives DeLauro and Farr asked USDA to review practices in labeling meat products. They would like USDA to provide transparent labeling related to ‘Lean Finely Textured Beef’ (LFTB) products. Private companies in retail and fast food have recognized that consumers have the right to know and have independently taken steps to provide this information to consumers. The USDA must act to ensure that all consumers have the ability to make informed purchase decisions for their families.

“While we were pleased by the recent announcement that school districts will soon be able to make informed purchase decisions related to this product, we believe that all consumers have the same right to know.” The letter continues, “We urge the Agency to update beef product labels to note whether or not the product contains processed meat filler and, if so, which filler(s) are in the product.”


The text of the letter is below.

March 29, 2012

Secretary Tom Vilsack
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20250

Dear Secretary Vilsack:

We are writing today to encourage you to review the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) practices in labeling meat products. Appropriate labeling is not only critical in enabling consumers to make informed purchase decisions, but also in ensuring proper food handling and safety.

We were encouraged by the Agency’s recent rule that requires nutrition information on many meat and poultry product labels. But, we remain concerned by the inadequate labeling of processed meat fillers such as ‘Lean Finely Textured Beef’ (LFTB) products.

We encourage the Agency to evaluate the transparency of labeling related to LFTB products. Much like the Agency’s work to ensure that consumers have ready access to nutrition information, this issue relates to consumer access to basic information about the food they are considering purchasing. While we were pleased by the recent announcement that school districts will soon be able to make informed purchase decisions related to this product, we believe that all consumers have the same right to know.

Consumers in grocery stores and other venues should have access to the same information so they can choose if they are comfortable purchasing products that contain LFTB. Families with children should feel as comfortable with the meat products served during the school day as with the meat products they purchase at the grocery store and serve at home. While some private companies in retail and fast food have independently taken steps to provide this choice for their customers, USDA must act to ensure that all consumers – regardless of access to a specific private chain – have the ability to make informed purchase decisions. We urge the Agency to update beef product labels to note whether or not the product contains processed meat filler and, if so, which filler(s) are in the product.

Thank you for your attention to this issue. We look forward to our continued work to improve the labeling of USDA-regulated products.