New Beef Labels to Help Consumers Avoid Foodborne Illness
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recently started requiring meat processors to affix labels to their beef products indicating that it has been mechanically tenderized, along with safe cooking instructions for consumers to follow.
Because beef tenderness is a key selling point for beef products, meat processors pierce and puncture slabs of meat with blades and needles to break up tough tissue. This process is referred to as mechanical tenderizing, which can take place before packaging, at the retail butcher counter, in a restaurant or even at home.