Per a recent notice issued by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), meat and poultry manufacturers may voluntarily use FDA guidelines on nutrition labeling pending issuance of updated FSIS Nutrition Facts labeling requirements. FSIS is the USDA agency responsible for ensuring commercial meat, poultry, and egg products are accurately labeled and packaged before entering commerce.

In May of this year, the FDA published two final rules updating the Nutrition Facts label to reflect “newer nutrition and public health research” to help consumers make informed choices and maintain healthy diets. Upon reviewing the rules, FSIS wanted to develop similar standards for meat and poultry products. According to the FSIS notice, “this approach will help prevent consumer confusion and nonuniformity in the marketplace.”

Importantly, companies using the current FDA format will be in compliance provided information on their labels remains “truthful and not misleading.” When FSIS publishes a final rule updating the Nutrition Facts label format for meat and poultry products, companies must then comply with that rule by the effective date. Accordingly, those companies may not also use the FDA format if it remains different from the FSIS format.

The public may comment on the FSIS notice here until December 16, 2016.