FSIS Releases Clarification on Flavor Products in Meat and Poultry

USDAs Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has released an explanatory document to clarify that flavor products (e.g., flavor bases and blended and reaction and/or process flavors, with greater than 3% raw meat or poultry or 2% or more cooked meat or poultry) in their formulation are amenable to FSIS jurisdiction. These products are amenable to FSIS jurisdiction because one basis for determining amenability is considering the amounts of meat or poultry used in formulating products.

Recent findings show that some manufacturers of flavor products formulated with significant levels (e.g., 30% to 70%) of meat, meat byproducts, poultry and poultry byproducts are not aware that such products are under FSIS jurisdiction. These manufacturers need to take necessary steps to come under inspection.

Flavor products, such as flavor bases and reaction and/or process flavors produced with meat or poultry ingredients, are used to flavor nonmeat or nonpoultry foods. These bases and flavors are produced by rigorous heating for a prescribed time (e.g., 100°C or higher for at least 15 minutes) and by chemical reaction processes (e.g., hydrolysis and/or enzymolysis). During these processes, chemical reactions typically occur between reducing sugars and amino acids or proteins.

The Agency is considering making changes in whether it asserts jurisdiction over certain meat and poultry products, including flavor products, and accepted comments on this issue in response to a Federal Register notice published on Nov. 17, 2005 (70 FR 67490). In that notice, FSIS indicated that the Agency is developing a proposed rule with FDA. Until a decision is made through rulemaking that such products are under FDA jurisdiction, they remain under FSIS jurisdiction, and manufacturers of these products need to respond accordingly (i.e., obtain FSIS inspection).

FSIS invites interested persons to submit comments on this notice. Comments may be submitted via mail to Docket Clerk, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, 300 12th Street, SW, Room 102, Cotton Annex, Washington, D.C. 20250-3700; e-mail to [email protected]; or via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. All comments submitted in response to this notice will be posted to the above website and on http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations_&_policies/2007_Notices_Index/index.asp. The comments also will be available for public inspection in the FSIS Docket Room

For more information, contact Robert C. Post, Ph.D., director, labeling and consumer protection staff, Room 602, Cotton Annex, 300 12th Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-3700; 202/205-0279.

For complete details, see http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FRPubs/2006-0035.htm.