FEDERAL RULE CHANGE TODAY COULD TAKE MEAT OFF CONSUMER’S TABLE

DATE: October 9, 2008

CONTACT:
Ken Pellman
Public Information Officer
County of Los Angeles Department of Agricultural Commissioner/Weights
and Measures
(626) 579-8589
(626) 226-6085 (cell)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

FEDERAL RULE CHANGE COULD TAKE MEAT OFF CONSUMER'S TABLE

Los Angeles County Director of Weights and Measures, Kurt Floren, says
"When shoppers purchase a package of meat labeled 'one pound,' I
suspect that they expect to receive a pound of meat, not 30% liquid."

ARCADIA, CA - Today, October 9, 2008, a United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) rule change will take effect, pre-empting the
methodology used for decades in California in the inspection packaged
meat and poultry products for content. In many instances, this will
result in consumers receiving less solid product when purchasing meat
and poultry.

THE PROBLEM:

By pre-empting State regulations, California Weights and Measures
officials must adhere to the federal procedures and utilize only "dry
tare" inspection methods. While other states in the U.S. had
previously shifted to "dry tare" procedures, California County
Weights and Measures officials had retained their authority to utilize
"wet tare" test procedures, convinced that this provided much
greater protection to consumers. The "wet tare" method may also
serve to discourage meat and poultry packers from adding unreasonably
high volumes of fluids and solutions presented as tenderizing or
flavoring agents by eliminating the benefit of selling such liquids at
meat per-pound prices.

"Tare" is the weight of packaging and all materials (tags, clips,
stickers, absorbent soakers, etc.) that are not part of the product
being purchased. Under "wet tare" testing procedures, free-flowing
fluids within packages and those absorbed into packaging material are
not considered part of the product weight, with the exception of an
allowance for reasonable moisture loss under good distribution
practices. Under "dry tare" testing, all fluids within a package,
whether retrievable or usable by the consumer or not, must be credited
as part of the package content for comparison to the labeled content.

ACTION:

Los Angeles County is joining the California Agricultural Commissioners
and Sealers Association (CACASA) in asking that USDA Food Safety and
Inspection Service (FSIS) not implement the amended rule and that a new
notice of rulemaking be published making clear its proposal to exempt
"wet tare" provisions. This would provide concerned officials,
consumer groups, and individual consumers the appropriate opportunity to
comment and submit arguments regarding the potentially negative effects
on consumers.

BACKGROUND:

California Weights and Measures officials follow procedures set forth
in National Institute of Standards and Technology Handbook 133.
Handbook 133 recognizes both "wet tare" and "dry tare" methods
for testing packaged products to determine whether or not they contain
the labeled weight of product. USDA-FSIS regulations have long
incorporated an earlier version of Handbook 133. In updating its
regulation to incorporate the latest version, USDA-FSIS chose to exclude
all sections pertaining to "wet tare" inspection procedures.

Of concern to the Los Angeles County Director of Weights and Measures,
Kurt Floren, is the fact that the FSIS publication of notice of
rulemaking, in a March 28, 2006, edition of the Federal Register and in
an April 19, 2006, notice of correction, failed to note any intent to
exclude "wet tare" test provisions. "Consumers and weights and
measures officials had no opportunity to comment on what amount to
significant changes in federal regulations," said Mr. Floren. "The
notices from FSIS clearly claimed that the proposed rule presented no
substantive changes to existing FSIS regulations. The actual changes,
and the effects upon local regulatory methods, will result in consumers
paying meat and poultry per-pound prices for added liquids and solutions
that are commonly up to 25% or 30% of the labeled product weight."



Established in 1881, ACWM protects consumers and the environment
through early detection and exclusion of dangerous, invasive insect and
plant pests; enforcement of laws and regulations regarding safe
pesticide use; operation of an environmental toxicology laboratory;
clearance of weeds, brush, and debris from vacant land to reduce fire
hazards; inspection and verification of accuracy of scales, meters,
price scanners, and quantity labeling on packaged goods.

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