Designing Foods Animal Product Options in the Marketplace (1988) / Chapter Skim
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5 Policies Affecting the Marketplace
5 Policies Affecting the Marketplace
Pages 98-114
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From page 98... ...
Specifically, the committee is encouraged that · Consumers are taking an active interest in planning their diets and monitoring their own health status; · The percentage of calories in the diet from animal sources of fat is declining, and total fat and the percentage of total calories from fat in individual diets appear to be declining also; ant! · A variety of initiatives within the private sector are well uncler way to reduce the fat content of animal products, increase their nutritional value, en cl present the consumer with better, clearer information about the nutrient content of these products.
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From page 99... ...
And new policies are needed to further encourage the positive trends now evident both among consumers and throughout the animal products industry. Committee objectives include providing consumers with the opportunity to exercise personal choice in the marketplace, encouraging the development of a range of products consistent with those choices, and ensuring sufficient consumer education and information to make those choices "informed decisions." PRODUCTION POLICIES Since producers have always been responsive to the markets, much of the im 99 provement in animal products at the production level will flow from the incentives produced by the policy changes recommended in this chapter.
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From page 100... ...
Once the meat has been cut and packaged for sale, its equivalent carcass grade cannot be determined. For beef, the quality grades and the yield grades are said to be coupled; that is, neither grade can be assigned without simultaneously assigning the other grade.
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From page 101... ...
, which state that · Consumers want lean beef regardless of USDA quality gra(le; · Changing the USDA beef quality grac3ing standarcls is not a prerequisite for producing leaner beef; · The retail consumer market is segmented between those who place emphasis on taste and a high clegree of marbling and those who place greater emphasis on lean ness; · Combining the Choice and Good/Select grades into one grade wouIcl reduce the industry's ability to market beef effectively to those two consumer segments; ant! · Any attempt to change the USDA beef quality grading stanciarcls would be interpreted by consumers as negative.
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From page 102... ...
The appeal of the word Select to consumers was demonstrated in the National Consumer Retail Beef study and in a subsequent study conducted by the American Meat Institute; Select was perceived to have a more positive connotation than Good by individuals in focus-group discussions (Schroeter Research Services, 1986; Yankelovich, Skelly and White, Inc., 1985~. On March 4, 1987, the USDA issued a formal proposal in the Federal Register to "rename the US Good grade as US Select." The proposal states that the proposed changes would!
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From page 103... ...
make removal of fat on the slaughter floor feasible without yield grade uncertainty and without the risk of excessive seam fat in wholesale or retail cuts. These suggestions may not be long-term solutions.
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From page 104... ...
The committee therefore recommends that cholesterol labeling be encouraged through adoption of either the currently proposed rule or one very similar in context and purpose. Controlling Use of the Terms Natural and Lite The committee evaluated the trend toward promotion of red meat products la
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From page 105... ...
The committee therefore recommends that use of the term Natural for meat products be standardized in a manner similar to the current FDA effort to standardize use of the terms to be user! in cholesterol labeling.
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From page 106... ...
This recommendation is made in view of the lack of uniformity in the promulgation and enforcement of standards of identity, the presence of additional new regulations to protect consumers, the mature nature of the food industry, and the great advances in food science and technology macle since standards of identity were first developed. POINT-OF-PURClIASE INFORMATION The creation of a wide range of marketplace options allows consumers maximum flexibility in matching products to their own dietary and life-style needs.
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From page 107... ...
Meat Nutri-Facts_ its President's Circle Nutrition Education Awarcl for "excellence in providing scientif 107 ically sound nutrition education to the public." The award has been given only once before, to the National Dairy Council in 1983. Although this program presents only factual information without subjective claim, the nutrient information carried on the placards is not complete or set forth in the format established by FDA regulations and stickers attached to packages give calorie information only.
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From page 108... ...
As a result, point-of-purchase nutrition information programs are often criticized for selecting an inappropriate serving size, even though no alternative may have been available. There is a current controversy as to whether serving sizes should conform to amounts commonly eaten or to amounts consistent with dietary guidelines.
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From page 109... ...
The Food and Nutrition Board's Recommencled Dietary Allowances, which are widely used around the world, are an example of this process. USDA's Extension Service provides a nationwide nutrition education system that connects nutrition and agricultural concerns.
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From page 110... ...
Both are rich sources of protein, bioavailable iron, B vitamins, and zinc; · We do not yet understand all the advantages or disadvantages associated with animal products and their ejects on human health; and · The technology exists to further improve the nutritional composition of animal products. DESIGNING FOODS inaccurately estimated this amount, particularly for animal fat.
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From page 111... ...
It is imperative that the United States maintain the high quality and safety standards associated with its foods and food products. However, research and development initiatives are being inhibited in the public and private sectors because of overly stringent regulations and an unwillingness to accept research data from other countries.
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From page 112... ...
The lean to fat ratio in the meat as it would be prepared for retail clisplay is important to both retailer and consumer. A rapid and economical method for determining yield grade and the proportion of lean to fat tissue in carcasses would make removal of fat on the slaughter floor feasible without yield grade uncertainty and with less risk of excessive seam fat in wholesale or retail cuts.
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From page 113... ...
The committee further recommends that the establishment of a consolidated data base be accompanied by the establishment of standards for serving sizes together with a mechanism for reviewing those serving sizes periodically. Advertising and Promotion Probably no policy issue has received more attention from regulators, consumer advocacy groups, and food manufacturers than claims that certain foods can promote health or prevent disease.
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From page 114... ...
Regulations and Biotechnology The committee urges that government policies that could inhibit the implementa DESIGNING FOODS lion of new technologies be evaluated. It is imperative that the United States maintain the high quality and safety standards associated with its foods and food products, but research and development initiatives are currently being impeded in the public and private sectors because of overly stringent regulations and an unwillingness to accept research data from other countries.
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