New City, NY - "We applaud the proposed federal regulations regarding organic standards for food. However, the regulation should go one step further and include a redefinition of the poultry label term "all natural." Redefinition would help dispel the consumer's confusion to the term," Murray Bresky, Chairman and Steve Gold, President of Murray's Chickens, Inc said in a joint statement.
Currently, by USDA definition, the term "all natural" can be used on all poultry labels as long as no artificial ingredients or pesticides were added at the processing plant. In-store interviews and focus groups have revealed that consumers are led to believe that poultry labeled "all natural" are also grown without the use of antibiotics from day of hatching to day of slaughter. This is not always the case. Some producers give their chickens antibiotics up until a few days before it is sent to the processing plant and are allowed to be labeled "all natural" and be considered "antibiotic free." These poultry products may meet the legal definition of "all natural" but not the implied one. Recent medical findings and press reports have stated that antibiotics given to poultry is a cause for major concern. "The long-term health effects of antibiotics in the poultry supply are not fully understood. That should be a red flag for the USDA to address the redefinition of 'all natural.' The same resolve should be made for the poultry supply as they have with the new proposed organic and irradiation regulations," said Mr. Bresky. This redefinition would also ensure, as Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said regarding their proposed organic regulation, that "consumers get what they pay for." "The USDA has an obligation to the consumer to guarantee they are buying a honestly labeled product," said Mr. Gold.
Murray's Chickens Inc, is a major processor of "all natural" chickens which are grown without the use of any antibiotics, ever. Murray's Chickens are available nationwide at finer butcher shops, gourmet stores, food markets and health food stores.
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