Here we go again with those pesky, confusing labels.

Now that several major companies have announced they will be producing chickens not given antibiotics used in human medicine, I have asked some of them how they are going to label the product so that it is distinguished from conventional chicken products in the cooler.

The reply, usually, is that they plan to get USDA to change to an approved label that says just that: Raised Without Antibiotics used in Human Medicine.

Good luck with that. Well not too much good luck as I have a few dinners on the line from some bets that they can’t get that done.

Currently, the only USDA-approved label that I know of for this situation is: Raised Without Antibiotics Except Ionophores.

What millennial wants to buy a product that was raised with some scary sounding product called an ionophore? Probably a code word that means hormones, right?

Because of this major swing in how many chickens will be raised, I have added a slide to my power point deck on labeling to reflect accepted USDA labels and just how confusing some are.

Major players in the food industry have been shocked and amazed when I tell them that the labels “No Antibiotics: Never Ever” and “Organic” are not entirely what the label implies.

The law states clearly, and the mission of USDA should be, that “labels must be accurate and not misleading.”

So get this, the Federal Register in regards to organic says:

“Origin of livestock 1) Poultry. Poultry or edible poultry products must be from poultry that has been under continuous organic management beginning no later than the second day of life; for poultry, this means antibiotics can be used both in the egg and the first day of life.”

The reference can be found at: g 7 CFR &205.236

And USDA also says in certain instances ionophores can be used far beyond the first day of life and the Never Ever label can still be applied.

No Antibiotics: Never Ever is a claim allowed for organic chicken production.

So those growers can and will charge more for organic than the new product “Raised without Antibiotics Used in Human Medicine” yet they may be using even more antibiotics in their animal husbandry practices.

This is part of the reason we still buy conventional. I don’t know how to interpret these inaccurate and misleading labels that are USDA approved.

By the way, when I was at the USDA I did try to get a labeling change moved through that would say “Raised Without Antibiotics Important to Human Medicine.” That would have been accurate and not misleading, but it bombed.

No antibiotics: Never ever?

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