The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has been diligently working with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and our partners on the Meat Nutrition Labeling Coalition (MNLC) to capitalize on the final nutrition labeling rule and consumers’ access to nutrition information in the meat case, and efforts are heating up.
Following is an overview of the latest efforts related to the approved materials from FSIS and the enforcement timeline:
The approved Point-of-Purchase is still underway: FSIS posted the first round of approved Point-of-Purchase (POP) on July 29; FSIS is currently updating due to errors found on nutritional data, calculations and formatting. FSIS made note of this effort in the latest constituent update. NCBA is working with FSIS to provide the supporting data on beef nutritionals for the revised materials. The new versions were slated to be posted to the FSIS website by mid-September. A link will be provided on this page when available.
FSIS is hosting webinars: FSIS will host a series of webinars to provide guidance on meeting regulation requirements. The next webinars will be held at 2 p.m. ET on November 8 and December 13. To access the webinars, you can log onto: https://connect16.uc.att.com/usda/meet/?ExEventID=85277207 and follow the onscreen instructions. The PowerPoint slides are posted on the FSIS website here. More details on webinars are posted here.
Extension Requested: NCBA has joined industry partners to submit a formal request for FSIS to exercise enforcement discretion for a six month period following the January 1, 2012 effective date of the final rule. We are still awaiting confirmation on the extension; an eBlast will be shared once a decision is made.
FMI is also working on its own poster: The Food Marketing Institute will make available its own version of a nutritionals poster; it should be available for purchase on its website within the next couple weeks. The Beef Checkoff Program has been working with FMI to ensure the nutritionals used for beef are accurate. Its poster will also be based on cooked data, 1/8” trim for the mandatory cuts.
Retailers can create their own posters: Using the checkoff-funded Nutrient Database, retailers can create posters customized to the cuts you carry.
For more information or questions, please contact your Checkoff Retail Marketing Manager.
Source: The Beef Checkoff