Nutrition Labels on Raw Beef, Poultry Begin Thursday - East Idaho News

Nutrition Labels on Raw Beef, Poultry Begin Thursday

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Getty 030112 NutritionLabel?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1330632707555Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images(NEW YORK) — The nutrition fact labels that you see on almost everything from soup to cookies are now being placed on meat. The new Agriculture Department rules go into effect Thursday, requiring labels on 40 of the most popular cuts of beef and poultry, listing things such as calories, fat and cholesterol.

Tufts University nutrition professor Dr. Alice Lichtenstein says the change is a long time coming. “There were technical difficulties because of the way meat is displayed in packages in the supermarket,” she said.

It’s a change that Lichtenstein says will enable shoppers to make informed choices about what they are eating, and “really facilitate cross comparisons and a better understanding of exactly what the information means.”

“I think it’s going to allow the consumer at the point of purchase to actually compare the different cuts of meat and make decisions on the basis of, for example, how many calories there are per serving,” she continued.

And that, Lichtenstein says, is a step in the right direction: “Most of the products in supermarkets are labeled. However, there are some major exceptions, one of which is meat — and this is a good approach to closing the gap.”

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