For those livestock producers who are selling locally there are some new labelling laws coming that will impact your retail sales. The following information came via NMPAN E-update.
New Nutritional Labeling Rules: Will they affect you?
USDA-FSIS has created new nutritional labeling regulations that require single-ingredient items -- retail "major cuts" and ground meat -- to have nutritional labeling. Until now only multi-ingredient products required nutritional labels.
This will affect you if you operate under inspection or have retail sales (even if your retail products are produced under retail-exemption). Meat processed under custom exemption is not affected by these new regulations.
The new rules will affect retail sales and inspected processing in two ways:
1) Retail Cuts: Forty "major" whole-muscle cuts of meat and poultry will now require nutritional labeling (as defined in 9 CFR 317.344 and 381.444). Processors with retail sales can provide point-of-sale material with nutritional information in place of putting nutritional info on the product label. Producers who direct market meat can also use such point-of-sale material. FSIS will be offering posters for free download over the internet that you can print and put up at your retail counter. NMPAN will provide information as soon as these become available.
2) Ground: If you produce more than 100,000 lbs. of a specific ground item during the calendar year under inspection (such as ground beef), you must now put nutritional labeling on this product. Likely only processors who average ~10 or more head of inspected beef a week will be affected by this part of the new rules. Be sure to check your annual processing volume if you think you're close.
If you do process over 100,000 lbs. per year of a specific ground item, small plants can use a statement of BOTH percent fat AND percent lean (such as "85% lean / 15% fat ground beef") instead of adding a nutritional label.
Again, custom-exempt processing will NOT be affected by these new requirements. For more information, see the notice in the Federal Register: www.federalregister.gov/a/2010-32485
Rules go into effect January 1, 2012. So you have almost a year to get your labeling in order.