What do Organic, Natural, Grass Fed, and other meat label terms mean? Make sense of them with this guide: • “Organic” meat comes from animals that are not fed growth hormones, antibiotics, genetically modified feed, or animal by-products while being raised. • "Natural" and "All-Natural" are food products that have been minimally processed and contain no preservatives or artificial ingredients. (Minimally processed means: the product was processed in a manner that does not fundamentally alter the product; an example is minimally ground meat). This definition only applies to how the meat was processed after the cattle were harvested, and does not apply to how the animals were raised. • “Naturally Raised” beef comes from animals that have never been given antibiotics or growth hormones and were never fed animal byproducts. • “Free Range:” There are standards for "free-range" (or "free-roaming") for poultry only, (not for other meat or eggs). Poultry labeled "free range" must have access to the outdoors, although this need not be pasture and may be dirt or gravel areas. • “Grass-Fed” beef have only eaten grass all of their lives, and have had access to pastures year-round. Labels that read "100% grass-fed" or "grass-finished," and verified by a third party, guarantee the beef has only been fed grass and hay.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Aug 2013 12:17:17 +0000