Food Safety and Inspection Service December 5, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing receipt of a petition from Hormel Foods to establish a definition for the voluntary claim ``natural'' and to delineate the conditions under which the claim can be used on the labels of meat and poultry products. The use of the claim ``natural'' is an issue of significant interest to the Agency, to industry, and to the public. Therefore, the Agency is inviting comments on the issue generally and on the petition and, to facilitate the comment process, is announcing that it will hold a public meeting to discuss the petition. After the comment period closes, FSIS will initiate rulemaking on the claim ``natural.'' The Agency has decided to initiate rulemaking because it is the most appropriate, open, and transparent method to deal with issues surrounding the definition and use of the claim ``natural.''