The new EU directive on meat labelling will expose an open secret – many meat products contain large amounts of offal and mechanically recovered meat. From January next year, this will have to be clearly labelled on all products. Some consumers, in search for ‘real’ meat, will turn to organic products, while others will reduce their meat intake further.
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The European Commission’s (EC) new directive, effective from January 1, 2004, has a much stricter definition of “meat” and lays down very specific rules for claims about meat content. “Meat” will only refer to skeletally attached muscles. All other parts of the animal – heart, kidneys, liver, offal and fat, for example – will no longer be referred to as meat but will have to be identified separately. Similarly, “mechanically recovered meat” will stand alone on all ingredients labels. To keep the consumer further informed, meats from different animals in the same product must also be separately labelled.
The EC’s directive will give consumers clearer information about the food they eat. The next question is what consumers will do with that information. While consumers may already know that frozen beefburgers, for example, are not made from finest steak, seeing the percentage of mechanically recovered meat and offal written down in black and white may well trouble some consumers – particularly women and the elderly, who tend to be the most concerned about issues of health.
Some consumers will begin to seek out better quality meat products, containing meat from only one animal for example, and made from cuts of meat rather than offal. This will create demand for organic meat products as the general search for healthier meat makes consumers question the conditions under which most meat is raised. Those still interested in the less gourmet bangers and mash may well turn to small organic farmers and retailers to provide them with the goods.
Another probable outcome is that the trend towards reduced meat intake will continue. Increasing numbers of consumers are including non-meat meals in their diet, out of a desire for variety and healthier eating. Greater awareness of the content of meat products can only encourage this behaviour, especially with regard to foodservice meals, where consumers have no real information about the provenance of their food.
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