The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing that it is seeking feedback on proposed updates to the Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications (IMPS) documents for fresh lamb and fresh veal maintained by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). The updates to these voluntary consensus specifications were recommended by a committee of meat industry experts and stakeholders.

The specifications, which were last updated in 2014, serve as a baseline for the Uniform Retail Meat Identity Standard (URMIS) and are referenced by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Labeling and Program Delivery Staff as the acceptable nomenclature resource for all meat product labeling. In addition, the IMPS are consistent with the Canadian specifications for meat cuts nomenclature and labeling found in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s Wholesale Meat Specifications Document. The IMPS also are used as the basis for the Meat Buyer’s Guide, published by the North American Meat Institute, as a pictorial representation of meat cuts and specifications for purchasing. Large volume purchasers, such as federal, state and local government agencies, schools, hotels and restaurants, reference the specifications when buying meat products.

The drafts of the proposed updated specifications can be found at: https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/imps. AMS welcomes feedback through Dec. 23, 2022. For comments and questions about these proposed changes, contact Bucky Gwartney via e-mail at bucky.gwartney@usda.gov or by phone at (202) 768-0659. AMS is targeting early February 2023 to publish the final standards.

Source: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service