Friday, December 23, 2011

Terminology:  "Never Ever 3"

SUMMARY OF "NEVER EVER 3" STEAK?

In summary, "Never Ever 3" steak means a steak from cattle which:
  • Have never received any antibiotics;
  • Have never received any growth promotants; and
  • Have never received any animal by-products.

DETAILS OF "NEVER EVER 3" STEAK

The details of the "Never Ever 3" program are regulated by the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, Audit Review and Compliance Branch, which are summarized here.

These requirements are much stricter than the USDA's "natural" definition. For example, a steak would qualify as natural if the cattle that produced it had been administered antibiotics for medical reasons, but that steak would not qualify for the NE3 program. A second example is that a steak would qualify as natural if the cattle that produced it had been administered non-hormone growth promotants, but that steak would not qualify for the NE3 program.

The USDA's website contains more information here. FSIS provides the following definition of the word "natural""

NATURAL vs. ORGANIC vs. NEVER EVER 3

Natural, Organic and Never Ever 3 have very different meanings. Click here for our blog on "Organic Steak". In addition, the Food and Marketing Institute has an excellent summary of the differences between the terms.

In summary, the three terms have very different meanings, with some steak qualifying for one or two but not all three, while some qualify for two but others qualify for none.

CONCLUSION
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