Dive Summary:
- The Uniform Retail Meat Identification Standards (URMIS) will see updates soon, with 350 cuts of pork and beef getting new labels first and veal and lamb updates coming as well.
- Changes will be focused on better communicating cuts of meat to consumers, with some terms being applied across multiple species.
- The Associated Press reports that 85% of food retailers currently use the voluntary URMIS system.
From the article:
"... 'The problem is consumers didn't really understand the names that were being used, and still don't,' said Patrick Fleming, director of retail marketing for the Pork Board. 'The names confused consumers to the point where they'd go, 'You know, the information doesn't help me know how to use it, so I'm going to stop using it.' That was a wake-up call for both the beef industry and pork industry.'' ..."