DeLauro Urges USDA, OMB to Finalize Mechanically Tenderized Beef Rule

Asks For Exemption to Uniform Compliance Regulation

WASHINGTON, DC—Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) today continued her push to have the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) finalize the long-pending rule for labeling mechanically tenderized beef products. Due to the Administration’s failure to meet a December 31 deadline for publishing the final rule, the earliest it can be implemented under the uniform compliance regulation is 2018.

DeLauro is urging the Administration to finalize the rule and make an exemption from FSIS’ uniform compliance regulation so implementation is not delayed any further. Democratic representatives Louise Slaughter, Mike Honda and Tim Ryan joined DeLauro in her call. The letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack can be viewed here and the letter to OMB Director Shaun Donovan here.

“The health risks associated with consuming mechanically tenderized are too great for this rule to be delayed, so we urge the administration to immediately finalize the rule,” they wrote. “Mechanically tenderized beef (MTB) products pose a serious and urgent health threat – in particular for vulnerable populations including children, seniors, pregnant women, and individuals with compromised immune systems…Without a label, beef purchasers cannot ascertain from visual inspection whether their meat has been mechanically tenderized. Purchasers of products are entitled to full disclosure about the type of product they are buying.”

DeLauro is a former Chairwoman of the subcommittee responsible for funding the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). She is a longtime advocate for food safety standards that protect and inform American consumers, and has made the safety and transparency of mechanically tenderized beef a top priority.

A 2008 USDA study indicated that about 50 million pounds of MTB products are sold monthly. MTB products are more susceptible to pathogens like E. coli O157:H7, because they can introduced into the product during the tenderization process.


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