Shoppers, here comes another food label that you may see on meats: naturally raised.
Some of you see those words and think of cows grazing in pasture, or high animal-welfare standards. But as the U.S. Department of Agriculture defined it last week, "naturally raised" has a much more limited scope. It simply indicates meat, and meat products, from livestock that haven't been given growth promoters or antibiotics (except for ionophores to control parasites), and have never been fed animal byproducts.
After proposing the standard in November 2007, the USDA collected more than 44,000 public comments. Groups such as the American Grassfed Association and Consumers Union (publisher of Consumer Reports) rallied against it.
"It would more properly be called 'Naturally-Fed' since it does not address how the animal is raised," Patricia Whisnant, president of the American Grassfed Association, wrote on her blog about a year ago.
Likewise, Consumers Union called the "naturally raised" label misleading and deceptive. In a statement urging people to contact the USDA with their concerns, Consumer Union stated "the USDA should allow only specific, understandable claims, like 'no artificial ingredients added,' 'no antibiotics ever administered' or 'no hormones ever used.' "
Now that the "naturally raised" standard has been adopted by the USDA, Consumers Union is calling for its withdrawal.
Full Story: http://www.fresnobee.com/columnists/joan-obra/story/1142322.html
