Stores Must Add Nutrition Labels To Meat

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The next time you go to the grocery store, expect to see new labels in the meat department.

New government regulations that take effect could help you make better decisions for your family at the supermarket.

The mandate starts today and it must be in place by April 1. Meat will have the same nutritional labels as all other products in the grocery store.

Ed Weiss is the meat manager at McGinnis Sisters in the South Hills.

"We have to have all the nutritional facts for our ground meats and the top 40 cuts of our beef, turkey, pork, chicken and lamb," he explained. "And so, we have to have all the nutritional facts for that."

This will apply to the top 40 cuts of meat in every meat department. You will either see it as a label on your package or somewhere in your store's meat department.

"Between our special ground meat and our ground chuck, they want to know is it 89 percent lean or is it 93 percent lean," Weiss said. "They want to know the difference because they're watching their fat content and they want it for their burgers and things like that."

Shoppers like Margaret Cummings, of Mt. Lebanon, are paying attention.

"I should because I have diabetes and I should watch my cholesterol - everything," she said.

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