Cargill to change beef labeling

[Hum]

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Cargill Inc, one of the world's largest beef processors, will begin labeling when its finely textured beef is used in the making of its U.S. ground beef products, the company told Reuters on Tuesday.

The move by the U.S. meat manufacturer comes as consumers increasingly demand more transparency in how agribusiness companies make the food they eat and how these products are disclosed on the packaging.

The debate over food labeling has roiled for months, from last year's public and media furor over a rival beef product - which critics had dubbed "pink slime" - to Tuesday's vote in Washington state over whether to require labeling of genetically modified foods.

Cargill's finely textured beef is a processed meat product made from chunks of beef, including trimmings, and exposed to citric acid to kill E. coli and other dangerous contaminants. The product, which Cargill has made since 1993, is used to produce higher-volume, less fatty ground beef.

Cargill said the new ground-beef packaging, slated to debut early next year, came about after the agribusiness firm surveyed more than 3,000 consumers over the past 18 months about their views on ground beef and how it is made.

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[theyarecomingforyou]

It's only right that consumers know exactly what it is they're buying. It's the same with genetically modified foods, which have had to be labelled in the EU for over a decade. How can consumers be expected to make informed decisions when vital information is withheld from them?

[Hum]

I wonder how many consumers can still read ...

[Torolol]

I vote for more detailed & truthful labeling, because i can & will read it.

Which also can be my source of litigation income if the label was misleading & deceitful.