"Grass fed" on a meat label is an animal-raising claim, and USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service has to approve the label before it's used, with documents that prove it. FSIS's guideline, updated in August 2024, says what the words mean: "Grass Fed," "Grassfed," "Grass-Fed" and "100% Grass-Fed" are the same claim, and it means cattle that ate only forage after weaning, were never in a feedlot, were never fed grain or grain by-products, and had continuous access to pasture during the growing season until slaughter. Forage includes grass, legumes, hay, haylage, baleage and silage, and routine minerals and vitamins are fine. If an animal got feed by accident, a fence break, or for its wellbeing in a storm, a signed, dated statement that it wasn't routine goes in the file. Anything less is a partial claim that says what happened, like "made from cattle fed grass and corn", and "Grass Finished" isn't the same as "Grass Fed". The plant that processes your beef submits the label with the proof: how the diet is controlled from birth, a signed description of the diet, how product is traced and kept apart, and what happens to animals that don't qualify. In the example below, a Texas ranch sorts five steers by what they ate in a dry August. Below are the rules, the documents, the example, and a free animal log.
The short version
- "Grass fed" is an animal-raising claim; FSIS approves the label before it's used.
- Grass Fed, Grassfed, Grass-Fed and 100% Grass-Fed mean the same thing.
- Only forage after weaning, never a feedlot, no grain or grain by-products.
- Continuous pasture access during the growing season until slaughter.
- Hay, haylage and silage count as forage; routine minerals and vitamins are fine.
- An accidental or wellbeing deviation needs a signed, dated statement that it wasn't routine.
- "Grass Finished" isn't "Grass Fed"; partial claims say what the cattle ate.
- TaroStack keeps each processing lot apart, so labeled and unlabeled beef don't mix. More below.
The rules
| Rule | Where |
|---|---|
| Approval | Labels with special statements and claims submitted to FSIS's Labeling and Program Delivery Staff and approved before use (9 CFR 412.1) |
| Same claim | Grass Fed, Grassfed, Grass-Fed and 100% Grass-Fed (FSIS guideline, August 2024) |
| Diet | Only forage after weaning; never in a feedlot; no grain or grain by-products (FSIS guideline) |
| Pasture | Continuous access during the growing season until slaughter (FSIS guideline) |
| Forage | Grass, forbs such as legumes, browse, cereal crops before grain forms, hay, haylage, baleage, silage, crop residue without grain (FSIS guideline) |
| Supplements | Routine minerals and vitamins allowed (FSIS guideline) |
| Deviations | Accidental exposure or feeding for wellbeing in adverse conditions: a signed, dated statement that it wasn't routine (FSIS guideline) |
| Partial claims | Say what happened, e.g. "made from cattle fed grass and corn"; "Grass Finished" isn't "Grass Fed" (FSIS guideline) |
| Organic | Organic certification alone doesn't support a grass fed claim (FSIS guideline) |
Selling the beef once it's labeled is in selling meat at farmers market, and the inspection side in USDA meat inspection requirements. This is general information, not legal advice.
The documents
| Document | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Controls | A written description of how the diet is kept to forage from birth to slaughter |
| Diet statement | A signed, dated description of what the animals ate |
| Tracing | How the product is traced and kept apart from slaughter through packing and sale |
| Non-conforming animals | How animals or product that don't qualify are identified and kept apart |
| Certification | If a third party certifies the claim, a current certificate; the label then shows the certifier's name, website and logo |
An example: a Texas ranch in a dry August
Colorado Bend Grassfed, the made-up cattle ranch in San Saba, Texas, I use in these examples, sells frozen beef processed at a USDA-inspected plant and wants "100% Grass-Fed" on its new labels. A dry August meant hay for some steers and, for one, range cubes made from grain by-products:
| Steer | After weaning | Pasture in season | Grain or by-products | Statement | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CB-101 | Forage only | Yes | No | Grass Fed | |
| CB-102 | Forage only | Yes | No | Grass Fed | |
| CB-103 | Forage, hay in August | Yes | No | Grass Fed | |
| CB-104 | Range cubes in August | Yes | Yes | Partial claim only | |
| CB-105 | Forage; a sack of feed after a fence break | Yes | Yes, once | Signed, not routine | Grass Fed, with the statement on file |
Hay is forage, so CB-103 keeps the claim. The cubes take CB-104 out of it: its beef is processed as its own lot and sold as "made from cattle fed grass and grain", or without a raising claim. CB-105's one sack after a fence break is the accident the guideline allows for, with the signed statement in the file. The plant submits the label with the ranch's controls, diet statement and tracing description. Pricing halves and quarters is in how to price beef by hanging weight.
Get the log
Download the grass fed animal log. One sheet: each animal's ID, birth and weaning, whether it ate only forage after weaning, had pasture access through the growing season, was ever in a feedlot, its supplements, whether grain or grain by-products were fed, and whether a deviation has a signed statement; the claim it supports fills in. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The log sorts the steers. After processing, hundreds of packages sit in the freezer, some with the claim and some without, and the labels have to stay with the right boxes all the way to the market table.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each processing lot apart, so beef with the claim and beef without it don't mix.
Each processing a lot. Beef back from the plant is received as its own lot, with the plant's lot and date, so CB-104's packages are a different lot from the grass fed ones.
Stock by cut and lot. Each cut is an item counted by lot, on a phone in the freezer, so you know how many grass fed ribeyes are left and how many from the partial lot.
Where it went. Each order, to a restaurant or a store, records the lots it got, so if a lot has to come back, one recall report shows who got it and what's still in your freezer.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Which packages carry the claim | Labels on boxes | Their own lot |
| Grass fed ribeyes left | Count the freezer | Stock by cut and lot |
| The plant's lot and date | A receipt | On the lot |
| Which customers got a lot | Invoices | One recall report |
Receiving, lots, counts and recalls are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.