Do you need any certification for making claims on labels?

Hello,

Today it was brought to my attention that my company wants to start producing a few new products with different statements on the label. My question is do we need certification to use the following statements?

• Humanely Raised
• Farm Raised
• Non Trans Fat - pork has a small amount of trans fat, does this mean artificial trans fat or naturally occurring?
• Non GMO
• rBST free

Do we need certifications for these? Or are these items you can just add to your label? My thoughts were you needed to have some sort of certification, however an R&D manager told me that you do not.

We are not a kill facility, we are an RTE facility who receives the product from outside suppliers.

Thank you

While there are certifications for each one available (not too sure about Non-Trans Fat, even though I think it would be No-Trans Fat), you can add them, howver you will need strong back-up documentation for each statement.

Treat this like any other audit where you say that you do something.

Say what you are doing

Do what you are saying

Prove it

The key is on the prove it.  Have documentation showing that you have taken actions and what standards you have measured them against to ensure that they remain that way.  You can forego the "certs" if you have a robust verification and validation program showing that you are technically adhering to a standard.

Cheers!

Hello,

 

Today it was brought to my attention that my company wants to start producing a few new products with different statements on the label. My question is do we need certification to use the following statements?

• Humanely Raised
• Farm Raised
• Non Trans Fat - pork has a small amount of trans fat, does this mean artificial trans fat or naturally occurring?
• Non GMO
• rBST free

Do we need certifications for these? Or are these items you can just add to your label? My thoughts were you needed to have some sort of certification, however an R&D manager told me that you do not.

We are not a kill facility, we are an RTE facility who receives the product from outside suppliers.

 

Thank you

I've never dealt with meat before, so I don't have much to say about the first two (and the last) except to point you here for something that might actually increase your marketability, because many consumers and companies take these things seriously: https://www.nal.usda...cation-programs

(My company uses palm oil, and if you don't use an RSPO certified product, then you don't get to play.) 

And here for actual guidelines: https://www.fsis.usd...eered-statement

The no trans fat and the non GMO claim are things you're going to have to prove by testing. You should have at least annual evidence. 

Hello,

 

Today it was brought to my attention that my company wants to start producing a few new products with different statements on the label. My question is do we need certification to use the following statements?

• Humanely Raised
• Farm Raised
• Non Trans Fat - pork has a small amount of trans fat, does this mean artificial trans fat or naturally occurring?
• Non GMO
• rBST free

Do we need certifications for these? Or are these items you can just add to your label? My thoughts were you needed to have some sort of certification, however an R&D manager told me that you do not.

We are not a kill facility, we are an RTE facility who receives the product from outside suppliers.

 

Thank you

I'm assuming your product is meat based on the claims you wanted on your products, you have to apply for label approval from USDA FSIS for certain claims before you market your product, otherwise you could risk enforcement.

This is the guidance for label application labels with special claims and statements

https://www.fsis.usd...pdf?MOD=AJPERES

Your R&D Manager should have done her research before assuming these, this will be very costly for your company if you got enforcement on labels that are unapproved.