Worth knowing
"Up to X% solution" on chicken and pork
Raw meat and poultry are often injected with water, salt and phosphates. When that happens, the percentage has to appear in the product name, next to the name and in the same size type, along with the ingredients of the solution — for example "chicken thighs flavored with up to 10% of a solution of water, salt and sodium phosphate".
What that means for you. You are paying meat price for the added water, and the salt comes with it. Chilled poultry that picks up water during processing has to carry a "may contain up to __% retained water" line on the front panel instead. A vague "enhanced" with no percentage is not allowed on its own.
Source: USDA FSIS, Water in Meat & Poultry
Worth knowing
"Product of USA"
Since January 1, 2026, a meat or poultry product may carry "Product of USA" or "Made in the USA" only if the animal was born, raised, slaughtered and processed in the United States. Before that rule, meat imported and merely repackaged here could carry the same words.
What that means for you. The claim is now worth something, but it stays voluntary — plenty of US meat does not carry it. Packages printed before the rule took effect may still be in the supply chain, so an older pack with the claim is not proof on its own.
Source: Wiley, USDA's Product of USA rule takes effect
Clear
"No hormones added" on chicken and turkey
Hormones are not permitted in raising poultry in the United States, and they are not used. A poultry package that advertises "no hormones added" has to print the disclaimer "federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones" alongside it — usually in much smaller type.
What that means for you. On poultry, the claim distinguishes nothing; every brand on the shelf could print it. On beef it is a real difference, because hormone implants are permitted in cattle. Pork no longer needs the disclaimer.
Source: National Chicken Council, hormones in chicken
Watch out
"No antibiotics ever" and "raised without antibiotics"
This is a voluntary claim that a company documents to USDA rather than one an inspector verifies at the plant. A USDA sampling project found antibiotic residues in roughly a fifth of cattle sampled from "raised without antibiotics" herds. USDA responded in August 2024 with a strengthened guideline asking for testing or third-party certification, with a compliance date of January 1, 2026.
What that means for you. Treat the bare phrase as a marketing line and look for a third-party seal next to it, such as a certifier's mark or USDA Organic, which has its own audited standard.
Source: Food Safety Magazine on the FSIS sampling results
Watch out
"Grass-fed"
USDA withdrew its grass-fed marketing claim standard in January 2016. Since then there has been no enforceable federal definition, so a label can say "grass-fed" for an animal that was finished on grain.
What that means for you. Look for "100% grass-fed" or "grass-finished" together with a third-party seal, such as the American Grassfed Association mark. The word on its own tells you very little.
Source: National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, USDA revokes the grass-fed standard
Worth knowing
The words used for cell-cultivated meat
USDA approved the product name "cell-cultivated chicken" in June 2023 for the two companies cleared at the time. The qualifier has to appear in the same size, colour and font as the rest of the product name, on the front panel and in the ingredient statement. The terms to look for are "cell-cultivated", "cell-cultured", "cultivated", "cultured" and "cell-based".
What that means for you. If a package were cultivated, the words would be printed on the front — it is not something a photo of the meat could reveal. In US grocery stores this is still rare; MeatCheck reports the words it finds, and whether your state has a ban or a labelling law, rather than judging the meat itself.
Source: Food Dive, USDA clears "cell-cultivated chicken" labels
