The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) regulates the quality, safety, and labeling of meat, poultry, and egg products marketed in the United States.  Recently, alternative meat products (known as “clean” meat) produced by culturing cells have become an increasingly hot topic.

On February 9, 2018, the United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) filed a petition with the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) requesting that the Agency undertake rulemaking on beef labeling to clarify for consumers the difference between beef derived from cattle and “beef” products created in a laboratory.

A key question is whether USDA should treat cultured “meat” in the same way as meat produced from raising animals. Not surprisingly perhaps, the USCA petition argues that such products should not be labeled as “beef” or “meat”. In light of the fact that cultured meat is a burgeoning area of food production, we will be closely monitoring regulatory developments as they unfold.