A Guide to Meat and Dairy Labels

The Grocery Aisle Conundrum: Understanding Meat and Dairy Product Labels

For those of us who read labels and stay up-to-date on the latest health trends, shopping for groceries seems to become more confusing every day. While trying to make sure that the products you choose won’t slowly kill you, there are so many details to consider: Is it organic? What are all of these ingredients? What conditions were the animals raised in? What were they fed?

Labels for meat and dairy products are perhaps the most confusing. Labels often include some combination of terms such as: organic, free-range, grass-fed, and hormone-free. What do these terms actually mean? Here is a brief overview that might help for your next shopping trip:

USDA Organic: Meat, eggs, and dairy labeled with a USDA Organic label are not treated with hormones, drugs, or antibiotics. The animals must be fed organic feed that does not contain genetically modified grains and must have access to the outdoors throughout the year. “Access to the outdoors” may mean that cattle and other large animals graze only four months of the year, or that chickens had access to the outdoors, fresh air, sunlight, and the ability to move around.

Free-Range: In order for meat or dairy products to be labeled free-range or free-roaming, the animals must have some access to the outdoors and must not be confined to a cage. There are no minimum standards on how much access to the outdoors is required, however, so standards vary from farm to farm. Note that, while all organic products are free-range, not all free-range products are organic.

Pasture Raised: Use of this term means that animals had year round access to the outdoors, but, like free-range products, there is no requirement on how big the outdoor space must be or how much time animals spend outside.

Cage-Free: This term refers to egg-laying hens, referring to the fact that they are not raised in cages. This does not guarantee that they have any access to the outdoors.

In recent years, misinformation and deceptive practices have led to numerous food product labeling lawsuits by consumers and advocacy groups. What is a grocery shopper to do when the labeling doesn’t provide any useful information? The best solution may be to do some research.