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The Problem — Most Meat Labels Reassure, They Do Not Inform

The average meat label carries 8–12 distinct claims, but most of those claims have no independent verification behind them. "Humanely raised," "all natural," "farm fresh" — the words are carefully chosen to imply more than the regulations require them to mean. Meanwhile, the processor who actually handled the animal, the facility's enforcement history, and the specific conditions the animal lived in are rarely disclosed at all.

Knowing what to make of a meat label requires understanding both what it says and what those words actually mean under federal law. Most shoppers don't have time for that research. FAT does it for them — in real time, on every label.

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The Three Steps of a FAT Meat Score

FAT evaluates every beef, pork, chicken, turkey, and lamb label across the same three steps, in the same order, on every package.

Step 1 — What Is Disclosed

FAT checks each of 16 transparency categories and marks it Known, Partial, or Missing.

#	Category	What Step 1 looks for on a meat label
1	USDA / FSIS Required Language	FSIS inspection legend, establishment number, safe-handling statement.
2	Species	Accurate species declaration under FSIS rules (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, lamb, veal, bison).
3	Breed	Named breed or genetic line (Angus, Berkshire, Heritage, Wagyu, Duroc).
4	Country / Origin	Country where the animal was born, raised, and slaughtered under COOL (7 CFR Part 60) and the 2026 "Product of USA" rule.
5	Farm / Ranch	Named farm or ranch, state or region, contact information — single-source traceability.
6	Processor	USDA FSIS establishment number and facility name (the key that unlocks enforcement records).
7	Feed	Grass-fed, grass-finished, grain-finished, vegetarian, soy-free, organic feed.
8	Animal Welfare	Living conditions, outdoor access, space, weaning age, painful-procedure protocols.
9	Quality / Palatability	USDA grade (Prime, Choice, Select), marbling, dry-aging, USDA Certified Tender.
10	Dietary Attributes	USDA Organic, "All Natural," keto, paleo, gluten-free, additive-free.
11	Medicine / Antibiotics / Hormones	NAE, RWA, USDA Organic; hormone status for beef (with required FDA disclaimer on pork and poultry).
12	Age at Slaughter	Age disclosed (veal, lamb, niche poultry — rarely disclosed otherwise).
13	FSIS Enforcement Protocols	Recalls, administrative actions, HMSA violations, quarterly enforcement, residue violations, pathogen testing — pulled live from FSIS via the establishment number.
14	Environmental Impact	Carbon footprint, regenerative certifications, CAFO runoff compliance, NPDES status. Website only.
15	Economic Concentration / Foreign Ownership	Corporate parent, beneficial owner, foreign control, market concentration / HHI. Website only.

Scoring at Step 1:

• ✔ Known — the label clearly discloses the category. Example: "Certified Humane, 100% Grass-Fed, USDA Organic, Niman Ranch, California."
• ◑ Partial — some information is present but limited or non-specific. Example: "Humanely raised" with no certifier named.
• ✕ Missing — the label does not address this category. A gap, not an accusation.

Step 2 — How Credible Is the Disclosure

For every Known and Partial disclosure, FAT records who is asserting it. The four credibility tiers, from strongest to weakest:

• Third-party audited — an independent inspector with a documented audit trail: Certified Humane (HFAC), Animal Welfare Approved (AWA), Global Animal Partnership (GAP step 4+), American Humane Certified, USDA Organic with annual third-party audit, American Grassfed Association, Regenerative Organic Certified. Weight 1.0×.
• USDA-reviewed — FSIS or AMS reviewed and approved the label language, or the producer participates in a USDA Process Verified Program (PVP). Government-backed records; no ongoing independent audit. Examples: USDA-approved "No Antibiotics Ever," USDA grade marks, "Born and Raised in the USA" backed by a USDA PVP. Weight 0.7×.
• Producer-affidavit — documented at the producer level (sworn statement, internal records) but without independent or agency audit. Weight 0.4×.
• Unverified marketing — appears on the label, allowed if not misleading, but with no documented backing. Examples: "Humanely raised" (no certification logo), "Family Farm," "Pasture Raised" (without USDA-defined standard), "Farm Fresh," "All Natural" used as a marketing claim. Weight 0.1×.

When a category is Missing there is nothing to rate for credibility.

Step 3 — Who Stands Behind the Label

The accountability chain is the part of the score a producer cannot rewrite. It is the public record. FAT surfaces four layers on every meat label:

1. The processor, identified by FSIS establishment number — and the processor's enforcement record pulled live from FSIS.
2. The brand owner on the package — including the parent corporation when the brand is a subsidiary line (Eckrich and Nathan's Famous are Smithfield brands; Hillshire Farm and Jimmy Dean are Tyson brands; Coleman Natural and Niman Ranch are Perdue brands).
3. Beneficial and foreign ownership — Smithfield Foods is owned by WH Group (China); National Beef is owned by Marfrig (Brazil); JBS USA is owned by JBS S.A. (Brazil). Foreign control of U.S. meat-packing is a material fact about who is making the claim.
4. Economic concentration — the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) and four-firm concentration ratio in the relevant species market. Concentrated systems shape what gets disclosed and what gets standardized away.

See the Step 3 deep dive below for how each of these layers is verified.

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The FAT Score

A 0–100 transparency index, built on two equal pillars — Disclosure (Step 1) and Credibility (Step 2) — each worth up to 50 points. Step 3 enters the score through Categories 6, 13, and 15.

Pillar 1 — Disclosure (0–50 points)

FAT evaluates all 15 meat categories. Each category earns points based on disclosure status:

• Known — full credit (1.0×)
• Partial — partial credit (0.4×)
• Missing — no credit (0×)

Pillar 2 — Credibility (0–50 points)

For each disclosed category, FAT assesses the credibility tier:

• Third-party audited — full weight (1.0×)
• USDA-reviewed — strong weight (0.7×)
• Producer-affidavit — moderate weight (0.4×)
• Unverified marketing — low weight (0.1×)

Grade Scale

Grade	Range	Meaning
A	80–100	Comprehensive disclosure, strongly backed claims
B	65–79	Good disclosure with solid credibility
C	50–64	Moderate disclosure or mixed credibility
D	35–49	Limited disclosure or weakly backed claims
F	0–34	Minimal disclosure, little or no verification

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Color-Coded Results

• ● Green — fully disclosed and third-party audited or government-audit confirmed.
• ● Amber — partially disclosed, or USDA-reviewed / producer-affidavit only.
• ● Red — not disclosed, or unverified marketing only.

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Full Category Definitions — Meat & Poultry

#	Category	What FAT Looks For
1	USDA / FSIS Required Language	FSIS inspection legend (round or shield), USDA establishment number (P-, M-, or numeric), safe-handling instructions. Federally mandated. Missing or incorrect inspection marks score as Missing. The establishment number itself is scored separately as Category 6 — its presence here is about federal compliance, not traceability.
2	Species	The type of animal — beef, pork, chicken, turkey, lamb, veal, bison, duck. Species must accurately match contents under FSIS regulations. Species misrepresentation (e.g., labeling horse meat as beef) is a federal violation. FAT confirms species labeling against the product description and FSIS-defined common names.
3	Breed	Specific breed or genetic line — Angus, Hereford, Berkshire, Heritage chicken, Wagyu, Duroc. Breed claims are not federally verified unless backed by a USDA Process Verified Program. Many breed claims ("Angus-style," "Angus blend") are unverified marketing and receive low credibility weight. Named PVP-verified breeds receive USDA-reviewed or third-party-audited scoring.
4	Country / Origin	Country where the animal was born, raised, and slaughtered under mandatory COOL (7 CFR Part 60). Multi-country products must list all countries of origin. Products that have been processed or substantially transformed may be legally exempt from COOL. The 2024 USDA "Product of USA" rule (9 CFR Part 412, effective January 1, 2026) sets the federal standard for any "USA" claim.
5	Farm / Ranch	Named farm or ranch of origin; state or region; producer contact information. Can this product be traced to a single producer? Vertically integrated processors (Tyson, JBS, Smithfield) often remove farm-level traceability from consumer packaging. Independent producers and direct-market brands frequently disclose this. FAT scores whether a specific sourcing entity can be identified from the label alone.
6	Processor	USDA FSIS establishment number and facility name. The establishment number is the critical link to FSIS public enforcement records. FAT uses it to retrieve recalls, administrative actions, humane handling violations under the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA), quarterly grading enforcement reports, chemical residue violation data, and pathogen testing results for Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria. A label with no establishment number cannot be linked to enforcement data and structurally caps Category 13 at Missing.
7	Feed	What the animal ate during its life: grass-fed, grass-finished, grain-finished, corn-fed, vegetarian diet, soy-free, antibiotic-free feed. "All Natural" does not mean grass-fed. "Pasture Raised" does not specify feed. The USDA AMS Grass Fed Marketing Claim Standard defines grass-fed but is voluntary; claims without it score as unverified marketing. Certified Organic feed is one component of USDA Organic. Feed claims backed by USDA PVP receive USDA-reviewed scoring.
8	Animal Welfare	Living conditions — indoor vs. outdoor access, space per animal, group housing vs. individual confinement, enrichment, and handling practices. Recognized third-party certifications: Certified Humane (HFAC), Animal Welfare Approved (AWA), Global Animal Partnership (GAP 1–5+), American Humane Certified. USDA Organic requires outdoor access for poultry and ruminants but does not specify space standards. "Humanely raised" without a named certifier scores as unverified marketing. Missing is the most common outcome for conventional product.
9	Quality / Palatability	USDA quality grade (Prime, Choice, Select, Standard for beef; similar scales for lamb and veal), yield grade, USDA Certified Tender, marbling description, dry-aging disclosure. USDA grades are government-administered but voluntary — most supermarket beef is Choice or Select, and Select is frequently unlabeled. Premium claims like "Prime" without a USDA grade mark score as unverified marketing.
10	Dietary Attributes	USDA Certified Organic, USDA-approved "All Natural" (minimally processed, no artificial ingredients), and additional claims: keto, paleo, Whole30, gluten-free, no phosphates, no carrageenan. "All Natural" is a USDA-approved label claim but does not prohibit antibiotics, hormones, or feedlot raising — it means only that the product was not artificially processed after slaughter. Claims without USDA review or third-party audit score as unverified marketing.
11	Medicine / Antibiotics / Hormones	No Antibiotics Ever (NAE), Raised Without Antibiotics (RWA), USDA Organic (prohibits both antibiotics and hormones). Hormone claims: no added hormones. USDA requires the qualifier "Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones" when a hormone-free claim appears on pork or poultry products. Growth-promotant use in beef cattle (Optaflexx, Zilmax). FSIS chemical residue violation data for veterinary drug residues linked via the establishment number in Category 6.
12	Age at Slaughter	Age of the animal at time of slaughter — relevant to tenderness, flavor profile, and welfare indicators. Disclosed on some veal labels (bob veal vs. rose veal) and occasional lamb and poultry products. Rarely appears on beef, pork, or mainstream chicken packaging. Missing is the expected outcome for most products and is scored as a disclosure gap rather than a negative finding.
13	FSIS Enforcement Protocols	Public FSIS enforcement records linked via the establishment number: product recalls (Class I, II, III), FSIS administrative actions and warning letters, humane handling violations under HMSA, quarterly grading and enforcement summary reports, chemical residue violations, and pathogen testing results (Salmonella performance standards, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes). Absence of an establishment number means this category cannot be evaluated and scores as Missing.
14	Environmental Impact	Carbon footprint, land and water use claims, methane and greenhouse-gas disclosures, regenerative agriculture certifications (Savory Land to Market, Regenerative Organic Certified). EPA ECHO CAFO runoff compliance, NPDES permit status, NRCS program participation. Website only — not yet in the FAT App.
15	Economic Concentration / Foreign Ownership	Corporate parent and ultimate beneficial owner: Tyson Foods (US), JBS S.A. (Brazil), Smithfield Foods / WH Group (China), Perdue Farms (US), National Beef / Marfrig (Brazil). Processor's market concentration share in its protein category. Whether the brand is an independent producer or a label owned by a multinational conglomerate. Vertically integrated vs. independent supply chain. Website only — not yet in the FAT App.

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Step 3 Deep Dive — Who Actually Stands Behind a Meat Label

Step 3 is the part of the FAT score that goes beyond the label itself. It pulls from federal datasets, corporate filings, and antitrust analysis — the work most consumers never see and most labels never volunteer.

USDA Establishment Numbers

Every package of USDA-inspected meat and poultry carries an establishment number — "EST. 12345" or "P-12345" for poultry. That number identifies the FSIS-inspected plant that slaughtered or processed the animal. It is the single most powerful piece of information on the package, because it links the product to its facility's public enforcement record.

If the establishment number is missing, Category 6 (Processor) is Missing and Category 13 (FSIS Enforcement Protocols) becomes structurally impossible to score — there is no key to query the enforcement database.

Looking Up Establishments Directly

The FSIS Establishment Demographic Data and Meat, Poultry, and Egg Product Inspection Directory let anyone look up a plant by establishment number or company name. The lookup returns the plant's address, the species inspected, inspection grant date, and FSIS district. From there, the enforcement datasets can be queried by the same plant identifier.

FAT performs this lookup automatically on every label it scores. The Processor Lookup tool exposes the same data for any reader who wants to do it themselves.

Understanding FSIS Enforcement Data

FSIS publishes enforcement records in several distinct datasets. Each one tells a different story about the plant on the label.

• Product recalls — Class I (reasonable probability of serious health consequences or death), Class II (remote probability), Class III (use of the product will not cause adverse health consequences). A Class I recall in the last 24 months is a significant signal about a plant's controls.
• Humane handling enforcement — Notices of Intended Enforcement, Suspensions of Inspection, and Withdrawals of Inspection issued under the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. Public.
• Quarterly enforcement reports — FSIS issues a quarterly enforcement summary listing every administrative action by establishment.
• Salmonella performance categories — FSIS classifies poultry plants into Category 1, 2, or 3 based on Salmonella prevalence; Category 3 means the plant exceeded the maximum acceptable percent positive.
• Beef E. coli and Salmonella sampling — FSIS publishes positive E. coli O157:H7 results for raw ground beef components and Salmonella results for ground beef and beef carcasses.
• Chemical residue violations — the National Residue Program tests for antibiotic, pesticide, and heavy-metal residues; violations are published with the establishment identified.

FAT pulls these datasets on demand and links them to Category 13 on the score. A clean record raises the credibility ceiling for Categories 8 and 11. A pattern of violations lowers it.

Who Owns Your Meat — Brand → Owner → Parent

The brand on the front of the package is rarely the company that owns the operation. FAT records three layers:

• Brand — the name printed on the package (Coleman Natural, Niman Ranch, Hillshire Farm, Eckrich, Open Prairie).
• Brand owner — the legal entity that holds the brand (Perdue owns Coleman Natural and Niman Ranch; Tyson owns Hillshire Farm; Smithfield owns Eckrich; Tyson owns Open Prairie).
• Ultimate parent — the publicly traded or privately held parent corporation, including foreign ownership where applicable.

Producer self-attestation about who owns the operation is Producer-affidavit at best. Public records — Securities and Exchange Commission filings, USDA Packers and Stockyards reports, state corporate filings, FDA Food Facility Registration — are USDA-reviewed or third-party-audited equivalents.

Foreign Ownership in U.S. Meat

The largest U.S. meat-packers are foreign-owned:

• Smithfield Foods — owned by WH Group (Hong Kong / China) since 2013. Largest pork producer in the United States.
• JBS USA — wholly owned subsidiary of JBS S.A. (Brazil). Largest beef processor in the United States; second-largest pork processor; owner of Pilgrim's Pride (poultry).
• National Beef — owned by Marfrig (Brazil). Fourth-largest U.S. beef processor.

Foreign ownership is a material fact about who is making transparency claims about U.S. animals. FAT records it explicitly on every label whose ultimate parent is foreign-controlled.

Market Concentration & the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI)

The HHI measures market concentration by squaring the market share of every firm in a market and summing the results. The Department of Justice treats markets with an HHI above 2,500 as "highly concentrated." U.S. meat-packing markets sit well above that threshold:

• Beef — the four largest packers (Tyson, JBS, Cargill, National Beef/Marfrig) slaughter approximately 85% of U.S. fed cattle.
• Pork — the four largest packers control roughly 67% of U.S. hog slaughter.
• Chicken — the four largest broiler companies (Tyson, Pilgrim's Pride, Sanderson, Perdue) account for over half of U.S. broiler production.

Concentrated markets shape what gets disclosed. When a small number of vertically integrated firms control most slaughter capacity, the labels on most packages reflect their disclosure choices, not the broader industry's range. FAT records the concentration context for every score so that "industry standard" is visible as a structural fact rather than an unspoken default.

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Sources & Framework References

• USDA FSIS Food Standards and Labeling Policy Book
• USDA AMS Food Disclosure & Labeling Standards (7 CFR Part 60, 65)
• USDA National Organic Program (7 CFR Part 205)
• USDA FSIS Compliance Guidelines for Substantiating Animal-Raising Claims
• USDA FSIS "Product of USA" Final Rule (9 CFR Part 412), effective January 1, 2026
• Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (7 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq.)
• Packers and Stockyards Act (7 U.S.C. § 181 et seq.)

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🐟 How FAT Scores Seafood Labels → — the same three-step framework adapted for seafood: species verification against the FDA Seafood List, the Siluriformes (catfish) exception, wild vs. farmed scoring, MSC / ASC / BAP credibility tiers, and FDA enforcement.

See FAT Meat Scoring in Action

Download the FAT App and scan any meat or poultry label to get the full evaluation — disclosure status, credibility tiers, and enforcement records — all in one place.

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Last reviewed: May 2026