USDA aims to tighten ‘humane,’ antibiotic-free meat labels

The effort comes as USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service faces pressure to tighten oversight of marketing claims on packaged food. Consumers often pay a premium for “humanely raised” or “antibiotic-free” meat because they view it as healthier, better for the environment or kinder to animals.

But critics say the agency’s rules for allowing such claims on meat packaging are too lax, citing recent studies from animal welfare groups and science journals.

Source: USDA aims to tighten ‘humane,’ antibiotic-free meat labels