Labeling of cooked cured poultry products
Dec 27, 2017 - Foods
Labeling of cooked cured poultry products
Since 2007, the ALTS and the DLG have been dealing with market perceptions regarding composition, quality, and labeling as well as piece size regulations of cooked ham and cooked cured products made from poultry meat. For the latter, terms like “cured, cooked turkey breast fillet” and “cured, cooked chicken breast fillet” are common.
These discussions resulted in Clause 2.341 of the Guidelines for Meat and Meat Products, which defines the market perception for cooked ham.
Accordingly, the term “ham” is only used for products of superior quality, for the production of ham only unminced pieces of meat such as top and bottom rounds, eye of round and/or hip are used.
If the ham is manufactured mechanically so that the proportion of meat pieces weighing more than 250 g is at least 80%, there is an obligation to indicate “assembled from ham parts” in connection with the designation “ham.”
For cooked cured products made from poultry meat, there are currently no provisions in the Guidelines, and there are differing opinions on the obligation to indicate assembly.
This raised the question of whether, due to years of consistent treatment, a comparable market perception of cooked ham and cooked cured products made from poultry meat can be assumed, and thus a uniform assessment should be adopted.
The ALTS decided at its 79th working meeting that for cooked ham and cooked cured products made from whole poultry breast muscles, a comparable market perception is to be assumed, necessitating a uniform assessment. Piece size regulation for cooked cured products made from poultry meat and any resulting obligation to indicate assembly remain unresolved. We will keep you updated on current developments.
In our laboratory, we routinely conduct these investigations. We provide you with quick and reliable results. For any questions, our customer service representatives are happy to assist you.
Source: Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety: www.bvl.bund.de