The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recently issued a notice instructing inspectors in establishments to collect data on the use of certain raising and other claims as a prelude to developing a field compliance testing program to verify that various approved claims are accurate based on product testing. The survey covers establishments that produce raw ground beef products, raw chicken parts, and ready-to-eat (RTE) products. Inspectors will complete a “Labeling Claims Questionnaire” to collect information on three types of labeling claims: 1) claims on raw ground beef products that hormones were not administered to the cattle; 2) claims for raw chicken parts that antibiotics were not used in the chicken production; and 3) soy-free claims on RTE products.  Claims of limited use of antibiotics for raw chicken parts are not included in the survey.

FSIS intends to use the information collected to conduct an exploratory sampling program to verify that such claims are accurate based on actual product testing. This notice also provides some insight on the types of claims FSIS has reviewed and approved for each of the categories of claims itis evaluating under this notice, as discussed further below.

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