On 2012-01-19, Sqwertz > wrote:

> Any meat passing itself off as steaks/roasts and made from chunked
> meat, fibers, and/or meat glue must say "formed" on the label.

From 9 CFR Parts 317, 319, and 381:

The Agency is also amending 9 CFR 317.8(b) of the meat inspection
regulations to require that, when transglutaminase enzyme is used to
fabricate or reform a cut of meat, the resulting product's labeling
include a statement to indicate that the product has been ``formed'' or
``reformed'' as part of the product name. The Agency has determined
that such labeling is necessary because TG enzyme alters the essential
character of a product by making multiple cuts of meat or pieces of
muscle tissue appear to be one intact cut or piece of meat, which could
mislead consumers about the nature of this type of product. The Agency
has determined that the terms ``formed'' and ``reformed'' are
appropriate descriptive terms. Although it must be revealed in the
ingredients statement, the presence of TG enzyme need not be disclosed
as part of the product name. The labeling of these products must still
comply with the requirement that a product that has been prepared by
salting, smoking, drying, cooking, chopping, or otherwise must be so
described on the label, unless the name of the product implies, or the
manner of packaging shows that the product was subject to such
preparation (9 CFR 317.2(e)).

The following examples are intended to provide further
clarification on the application of the labeling requirements for
products that have been fabricated or reformed using TG enzyme. When
the surface of two whole beef tenderloins are fused together to create
a product with a uniform thickness or portion size, an appropriate name
for the product would be ``Formed Beef Tenderloin.'' However, if TG
enzyme is used to fuse non-intact pieces of beef tenderloin to form a
roll that resembles a tenderloin, an appropriate name would be
``Reformed Beef Tenderloin Pieces.'' When a beefsteak is formed by
treating chopped pieces of meat trim with TG enzyme to fuse the pieces
together, an appropriate name for this product would be ``Formed
Beefsteak, Chopped and Shaped.'' When seam fat is removed from a cut of
meat and the cut is then reassembled using TG enzyme, an appropriate
name for the product would be ``reformed'' in conjunction with the name
of the product, for example, ``Reformed Ribeye Steak.''

The petition did not request that FSIS adopt these labeling
requirements for fabricated or reformed poultry products. However,
because FSIS has determined that TG enzyme is suitable for use in non-
standardized poultry products and modified versions of traditional
poultry products, and because it is interested in harmonizing the meat
and poultry inspection regulations, the Agency is amending 9 CFR
381.129 to require that the labels of poultry products fabricated or
reformed using TG enzyme state that the product has been ``formed'' or
``reformed'' as part of the product name.

Establishments that choose to use TG enzyme or pork collagen in
their products will be required to list these substances, in descending
order of predominance, in the product's ingredients statement (9 CFR
317.2(f)(1) and 381.118(a)(1)). This will require modification of the
product's label and the printing of new product labels.

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Clay Irving >
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