NEW REGULATION DEFINES POULTRY FRESHNESS

NANCY GRIFFIN

BOSTON -- The new federal regulation that sets a 26 degrees Fahrenheit or higher standard for poultry labeled "fresh" had panelists talking turkey at the recent Northeast Fresh Foods Alliance conference.

Although poultry with internal temperatures colder than that can no longer be called "fresh," sellers are not required to call it "frozen" either -- so Thanksgiving could find retailers in turkey limbo, trying to figure out how long they can keep fresh birds at the higher temperatures and whether consumers will continue to pay the fresh premium for "hard-chilled" birds.

One thing is for sure. "If fresh poultry falls below 26 F, it must be relabeled," said Dr. Raza Haq, U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA Food Safety & Inspection Service epidemiologist.

The six industry panelists agreed that consumers who prefer fresh turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas can expect limited availability and higher costs as a result of the no man's land category created by the regulation.

Bill Santos, a former meatcutter who is now category manager for Star Market, Cambridge, Mass., said he's concerned about how the regulation will affect him and his counterparts.

Santos asked, "Who's responsible for maintaining the temperature? How will processors guarantee the temperatures are maintained? And if the temperature goes wrong, who's responsible?"

USDA's Haq explained that, "Once the product leaves the plant, if inspectors find non-compliance, the product will be detained. Whoever owns the product at that point will have to respond -- he's responsible."

Haq said the rule is designed to end the practice of selling as fresh, poultry that has been frozen to temperatures between 0 degrees F and 25 F, then thawed. Cold storage facilities will be monitored occasionally by USDA to assure they meet temperature requirements, Haq added.

The new rule does allow a variance of 1 degree Fahrenheit over a couple of boxes in a lot, but if the number of boxes, or temperature, exceeds that tolerance, the entire lot must be reclassified.

The regulation ended a long dispute between a California producer and a consumer group. But Santos was not sure the controversy is ended as well.

"I've seen nothing printed yet. Will something come from the USDA so the consumer will understand?" asked Santos. "Will the processors inform the consumer?"

One processor expressed concern as well.

"Before when we talked of 'fresh', we meant above 0 degrees Fahrenheit," Charles Link of Shady Brook Farms, Harrisonburg, Va. said.

Link said blast-cooling poultry is "a lot like cruise control, you set it for 60 mph and you might get 55 or 65 depending on the road conditions." Shady Brook targets internal temperatures of 30 F to 32 F "so we won't have a problem going below 26."

Each four degrees of temperature change "means a four-day decrease in shelf life" for fresh birds, said Link. "If we try for 30 F, we'll know we'll find some product at 26 F. If we get much above 30 F, we'll lose shelf life.

"Temperature by itself causes tremendous variability in shelf life. This can become an issue around holidays," said Link.

Wings or portions are exempt from the regulation, but whole birds, breasts and legs are covered, Haq said.

"Like many other producers, we used to bring birds down to 22 F and slowly bring the temperature up as the season approached," said Bob Braccia of Carolina Turkey. "We've asked our customers -- they want 'fresh.' So we expect to have 20% to 25% fewer fresh birds available this season.

"Our competitors will put out the 'Keep Refrigerated' turkeys, but we'll please our customers (with fresh birds)," said Braccia. "This takes a week of fresh turkeys away and puts a week of frozen turkeys in. It's not a good thing before Thanksgiving."

"This is a truth-in-labeling issue, not a food-safety issue," said Christopher Jones of Gold Kist Inc. of Atlanta. "We had to change our label from 'Taste Fresh from the Farm.' We asked the USDA and they wouldn't allow it. Now our tag says 'From Farmers Who Care.' We have a target temperature of 28 F for this product, but we'll freeze some and ship with a 'previously frozen' tag.

"We won't ship frozen to the Northeast. Northeast buyers won't buy frozen," Jones added. "This regulation has affected regular business availability, feature business availability, shelf life and the cost to consumers.

"Fresh is a voluntary designation. We volunteered to take it off our packaging. Our customers hold us to the same standard when we pack for private label. If our customers want 'fresh' we put it on," Jones said.

"So," asked panel moderator, Al Letizio Jr., of A.J. Letizio Food Marketing, "your customers may be selling it as fresh?"

"We don't bear the responsibility, but we think retailers may just stick them in the case with no designation and the consumer won't know," Jones responded.

Santos expressed a fear that some retailers will "stretch" the limits of the law "like with 'natural', which confuses the consumer."

"Processors are jumping through hoops, but when (the birds) go to retail, it becomes a problem for the stores," said Letizio.

"At Star, we'd bill 'as fresh' if within the guidelines," said Santos. "I don't know how well they'll police that middle category. It will be hard to regulate. This law is puzzling to me."

Some retailers said that if some stores sell the "not fresh-not frozen" turkeys out of the fresh case around Thanksgiving, and tell consumers nothing, all supermarkets could suffer from the backlash.

"We want to make sure the consumer is not getting cheated," said Santos. "We need to have a USDA category for the middle group. It's misleading to the consumer without one."