Quantification of beef in products sold in Canada declaring multiple meat species – Regulatory and consumer implications related to accurate labeling

Abstract

The match between labeling and consumer’s perception is well studied in the scientific literature, but rarely to assess the relevance of the existing regulatory framework. This work studied (i) consumers’ knowledge and perceptions of meat products’ labeling in Canada through a survey (n = 484; 4 % margin of error) and (ii) beef content in multispecies meat products (n = 68; 58 listing “beef” and 10, “and/or beef”) using qPCR and, for validation of non-detects, ELISA. For products listing beef as an ingredient, respondents expected 50 % beef when declared as the first meat ingredient (42 % respondents), and 25 % in other products (34 % respondents). These expectations were not met in 19/27 products listing beef as first meat ingredient and in 23/31 other beef products, which was perceived as lack of transparency (63 % respondents). Animal DNA was not detected in at least 1 sample in 10/68 of these products. For products with beef as the first of 2 meat ingredients, those with less than 50 % beef/meat mixture (19/27) contravene Canadian regulations on the order of declared ingredients. Furthermore, animal but not beef DNA was detected in at least 1 sample in 9 products. Also, the term “and/or” was not fully understood by respondents (66 %), and was regarded as misleading or potentially misleading (87 %). Thus, we observed a potential disagreement between consumers’ expectations on meat products’ labeling and the level of transparency that can be achieved with current regulations. In particular, the use of “and/or” in meat products warrants further attention, notably regarding consumer education and industry guidance.