FSIS Proposes New Labeling Rule for Mechanically Tenderized Beef
The Food Safety and Inspection Service proposed new labeling rules for mechanically tenderized beef products, including beef products injected with marinade or solution, unless destined to be fully cooked at an "official establishment." The proposed rule would require labeling on mechanically tenderized beef so that consumers know the product is mechanically tenderized, said FSIS. The product name would need to say it is mechanically tenderized. It would also require the labels to display instructions that the mechanically tenderized beef product be fully cooked.
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According to an FSIS press release (here), the new standards are being proposed in response to the risk that mechanical tenderization, which involves piercing meat with needles or sharp blades, may introduce pathogens from the exterior to the interior of such products. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has received five outbreaks from mechanically tenderized beef products, FSIS said. Failure to cook through these products was a “significant factor” in all of them, it said.