U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, recently reintroduced the Real Marketing Edible Artificials Truthfully Act (Real MEAT Act), which would clarify the definition of beef and pork for labeling purposes by requiring alternative proteins to clearly display the word “imitation” on their packaging.
The Real MEAT Act is intended to mitigate consumer confusion about the products they purchase and enhance the federal government’s ability to enforce labeling standards. The bill would reinforce the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act’s (FFDC’s) misbranding provisions, stating that any imitation meat food product, beef or beef product, or pork or pork product is misbranded unless its label has the word “imitation” in the same size and prominence immediately before or after the name of the food. The imitation product must also include a statement clearly indicating that it is not derived from and does not contain meat.