What does that chicken label mean?
19:19 ET, Mon 25 Jun 2007
By Terri Coles
TORONTO (Reuters) - Consumers found something new in the meat aisle last week after Tyson Foods, the largest U.S. meat producer, announced its fresh chicken would now come from poultry raised without antibiotics.
That will be welcome news for many shoppers, but those already bewildered by the growing range of health claims on food labels could be forgiven for wondering why they should care.
Antibiotics are added to feed because it makes animals grow about 10 percent faster. But the practice has led to concerns about bacteria developing resistance to antibiotics, in both animals and humans, said Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University. If those bacteria are harmful and make humans sick, antibiotics may not work as a treatment.
"About 70 percent of the antibiotics that are used in the U.S. are used for animals in one way or another," Nestle explained in an interview. "There's a lot of concern about that because there doesn't seem to be a lot of drug development of new antibiotics, and antibiotic resistance has become a worldwide problem."
Tyson is ushering in the change to antibiotic-free feed with a $70 million marketing campaign and new packaging reading "100% All Natural Chicken Raised Without Antibiotics, No Hormones Administered, No Artificial Ingredients."
Hormones are banned when raising hogs and poultry in the United States, so all pork and chicken sold in the country is hormone-free. Indeed, the hormone-free label can only be used in conjunction with the text "Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones," as the Tyson label does. "Grain fed" and "free range" are two other terms used by some chicken producers. Grain-fed chickens were not fed animal by-products, while free range chickens had some access to open outdoor spaces. But like "antibiotic-free," these terms are not subject to outside monitoring or approval, Nestle said.
There is considerable consumer and retailer confusion around the difference between "natural" and "organic," Nestle said. In her book "What To Eat", Nestle describes visiting organic food stores and asking about their organic meat products, only to be pointed to a product labeled as natural. "They don't know the difference," she said. "There's an enormous difference."
The USDA requires that a food labeled as "natural" must not have any artificial ingredients and must be minimally processed, and any other claims must be honest. "Natural" does not mean the chickens were raised without antibiotics. Their feed may contain non-organic ingredients or animal by-products. They may not have had access to the outdoors or open areas. Most importantly, the label comes with no guarantee of any inspection of these practices. "They don't have to prove anything," Nestle said. "It has no regulatory meaning whatsoever."
However, the only foods that can be labeled "organic" are those that have met the USDA's standards, which don't allow animal by-products in feed or the use of antibiotics and hormones to promote growth. Livestock must have freedom of movement and access to outdoor areas, and their feed must be 100 percent organic grain. Organic producers are subject to inspections by agencies accredited at the state or federal level.
Producers cite the high cost of organic feed as the deal-breaker for producing organic meat, and it's often difficult to find organic chicken, pork and beef.
Some studies have suggested that organic foods may be healthier than their conventionally-grown counterparts, but the USDA does not claim that organic foods are safer or more nutritious.
What is clear is that producers are moving further in the direction of natural and organic foods. Tyson's CEO said that 91 percent of consumers said having chicken produced and labeled "raised without antibiotics" was important. Organic food sales are showing double-digit growth each year, while overall food sales are increasing by just a few percentage points. "I think everybody is going to have to appeal to this market because it's the only place where there's growth in food sales," Nestle said.
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