MSGID: 1:317/3 64a8e696   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Food labels offer consumer choices but also confusion about animal   
   welfare    
      
     Date:   
         July 7, 2023   
     Source:   
         Purdue University   
     Summary:   
         Animal-based food products often come packaged in a wide array of   
         information labels, including organic, natural, grass-fed, humanely   
         raised and pasture-raised. But it's typically up to the consumer to   
         do their homework and figure out what these different claims mean.   
      
      
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   Animal-based food products often come packaged in a wide array of   
   information labels, including organic, natural, grass-fed, humanely   
   raised and pasture- raised.   
      
   "There's some confusion about food labels related to animal welfare,"   
   said Purdue University's Marisa Erasmus, associate professor of   
   animal sciences and a specialist in animal behavior and welfare. "It's   
   typically up to the consumer to do their homework and figure out what   
   these different claims mean. Labels do provide consumers with a choice   
   because, in theory, you can choose products that align with your personal   
   and social values."  Erasmus' comments follow the U.S. Department   
   of Agriculture's newly launched effort to strengthen the validity of   
   animal-raising claims. Erasmus and her colleagues will be watching to   
   see what additional documentation animal food producers will need to   
   provide regarding food label claims.   
      
   In general, she noted, producers need to submit certain claims about   
   their food products to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service for   
   approval. The FSIS regulates certain food labels and claims on meat and   
   poultry products.   
      
   Some claims require that producers submit documentation before approval   
   is granted.   
      
   "One point of confusion is which claims are associated with animal   
   welfare certification organizations that use third-party verification,"   
   Erasmus said.   
      
   "Producers that work with one of these organizations can put the   
   latter's seal on their products to indicate that the animals were   
   raised according to certain standards. Typically, those standards are   
   intended to offer higher animal welfare than what you would see with   
   a conventional product. But a lot of consumers don't necessarily know   
   what these different seals mean. And the absence of a label claim does   
   not mean that food animals were raised inhumanely."  Other labels have   
   more to do with how people perceive the health benefits of a product   
   and do not relate as much to the animal's welfare.   
      
   "We definitely want to make sustainable, healthy choices," Erasmus   
   said. "But just because an animal product has an organic label on it   
   doesn't always mean that animal had a better life than an animal that   
   wasn't raised organically."  The USDA regulates organics through the   
   National Organic Program, which offers a label distinct from those   
   provided by other sources.   
      
   The idea of "no antibiotics added" is another claim that can cause   
   confusion.   
      
   "This label is confusing because antibiotics are occasionally used to   
   treat live animals or prevent illness, but antibiotics are not added to   
   meat products."  If animals are given antibiotics at some point in their   
   lives, then there is a mandatory withdrawal period. That period allows   
   the antibiotics to pass from the animal's system before any products   
   are created from that animal.   
      
   Erasmus and her colleagues work closely with producers in Indiana and   
   across the U.S. to support humane animal production practices and conduct   
   research providing guidelines for animal welfare and management. The   
   Poultry Extension Collaborative provides more details about animal food   
   product labeling in the July 2023 issue of Poultry Press.   
      
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   provided by Purdue_University. Original written by Steve Koppes.   
      
   Note: Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230707111640.htm   
      
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