Understanding the FAT Categories
The fifteen disclosure categories that drive every FAT score.
FAT evaluates every meat, poultry, and seafood label across the same fifteen transparency categories. Each card below explains what FAT looks for in that category and how it scores what it finds.
The 15 Categories of FAT
Every FAT label discloses the same core categories—so consumers can compare products based on real information, not marketing language.
USDA or FDA Required Basics
USDA / FSIS (meat & poultry): inspection legend, EST number, net weight, safe handling, common product name, ingredient statement.
FDA Required Basics (seafood & non-FSIS): statement of identity, net quantity, ingredient list, Big-9 allergen statement, nutrition facts, manufacturer or distributor address.
Farm
Single-source farm or grower group disclosed.
Age at Slaughter
Age disclosed at processing.
Processor
Inspected facility name and location. USDA/FSIS for meat, poultry, and catfish (Siluriformes); FDA for seafood and other non-FSIS plants under HACCP; EPA oversees the plant's water and air discharges (Clean Water Act 40 CFR 432 / 408; Clean Air Act).
Who
The corporate entity that stands behind the product — the immediate owner of the processor, farm, brand, or fishing operation, and any parent companies above it. The Who chain is the key that unlocks the public record: FSIS and FDA enforcement history, foreign-ownership status, market concentration in the supply chain, and antitrust / HHI analysis.
Brand
The name printed prominently on the package — what consumers see first. Many supermarket brands are subsidiary product lines of much larger corporations (e.g., Eckrich and Nathan's Famous are Smithfield brands; Hillshire Farm and Jimmy Dean are Tyson brands). FAT discloses both the brand on the package and the corporation that owns it.
Feed
Diet composition disclosed — forage (grass-fed, grass-finished, pasture, hay), grains (corn, oats, barley, millet, soy), mineral supplement package, vegetarian, or regenerative-farming feed. Species-appropriate standards applied.
Animal Welfare
Welfare practices disclosed. Partial credit only where standards exceed baseline commercial conditions.
Hormones
Synthetic hormones are used in beef cattle to accelerate growth (estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, zeranol, trenbolone) and in dairy cattle to boost milk production (rBST). Federal law prohibits the use of hormones in pork and poultry (swine, chicken, turkey) — any "no hormones added" claim on those products must carry the FDA-required disclaimer "Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones."
Quality & Palatability
Processing method, grade, or quality metrics disclosed.
Organic
USDA Organic certification under the National Organic Program (7 CFR Part 205) applies to meat (beef, pork, lamb, poultry) and dairy. Core livestock requirements: 100% certified-organic feed (no GMOs; no slaughter byproducts in feed); no growth hormones; no antibiotics in organic-labeled meat — sick animals must be treated and, if given prohibited substances, removed from the organic program; continuous organic management from the last third of gestation for slaughter livestock (dairy has separate transition rules); year-round outdoor access, shade, shelter, fresh air, sunlight, and clean dry bedding; for ruminants, ≥30% of dry-matter intake from pasture during a grazing season of ≥120 days. The slaughter facility and processor must also be certified. Verified by USDA-accredited certifying agents with annual on-farm inspection.