US agency sued over 'deceptive' product labelling

A recent lawsuit filed against the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) by the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) alleges the agency has approved misleading labelling on chicken and turkey products.

The lawsuit highlights the USDA’s approval of Perdue Farms’ Fresh Line labels, which depict chickens and turkeys grazing outdoors in green grass under a bright sun.

In reality, the ALDF said, the birds used in these products spend their lives confined in warehouses on factory farms. The ALDF lawsuit hinges on the fact that the agency is legally required to review labels of products containing turkey or chickens to ensure they are accurate. By approving Perdue Farms’ pastoral labels, the ALDF claims the USDA has turned a blind eye towards misleading imagery.

The complaint identifies several other chicken and turkey product labels with idyllic imagery of animals outdoors, and alleges that the USDA has similarly not reviewed these label images for accuracy.

Consumer concerns over the treatment of animals in animal agriculture are steadily increasing, as shown in a Technomic survey that found 77% of consumers are concerned about the welfare of animals used for food. More than two-thirds of consumers pay some or a lot of attention to food labelling claims regarding how the animal is raised.

“The USDA is responsible for reviewing food product labels so consumers can make informed decisions about the purchases they choose to make,” said ALDF Managing Attorney Daniel Waltz.

“Regulations explicitly prohibit animal-product sellers from employing misleading marketing campaigns to sell products and ALDF will continue to pressure the federal government to protect the public from this harmful practice.”

Image credit: iStock.com/armankose