With the proposed rule, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) seeks to establish and clarify clear standards for organic livestock and poultry production.

Organic agriculture — considered by some to be a niche and/or fad some 30 years ago — continues to grow in the United States, and the sheer number of organic products found in retail and foodservice outlets offers anecdotal evidence.

Microbiome research is an area of increasing interest in livestock production due to potential microbiome impacts on animal performance. The term microbiome, while scientifically rooted in the genetic makeup of the microbes, is used to more generally represent the microbial populations that are present in an environment. 

The last year was one for the record books in many ways. Never before had our nation’s meat and poultry processors been challenged to meet consumer demand in such intense and unorthodox ways.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recently updated two guidance documents regarding meat and poultry labeling claims.