Sec.21a-100-5. Labeling requirements

(a) No food establishment shall produce, prepare, package, advertise, sell, or offer for sale any meat unless it is clearly and conspicuously labeled or advertised as the case may be, as to its true name. The labeling or advertising shall also state whether the product is boneless or whether it has the bone-in.

(b) Fanciful names, such as "His and Her Steak," "Chicken Steak," and "Chicken Roast," are prohibited.

(c) A name in addition to the true name may be used, provided that such name is not false, misleading, deceptive, or confusing in any way. Any such additional name shall appropriately describe the cut of meat to which it refers or the use to which such cut is put or its method of preparation. Examples of permissible additional names include "Pot Roast," "Oven Roast," "Delmonico Steak," "Cube Steak," "Sandwich Steak," "Steak for Swissing," and "Beef Chuck for London Broil."

(d) Whenever a name in addition to the true name is used, the true name shall appear contiguous to the additional name in at least the same size of type and style of lettering and on the same background as the additional name. For example:

SANDWICH STEAK - BEEF ROUND

(e) Whenever a name in addition to the true name is used orally in a radio or television advertisement, an immediate reference shall be made to the true name of the cut of meat being advertised.

(f) The true name need not be included in the labeling or advertising of bacon, club steaks, Delmonico steaks, filet mignon, and other cuts of meat specifically defined in Section IV of these regulations, provided that, the meat is clearly and conspicuously labeled or advertised as to its name as defined in these regulations.

(g) Meat food products, such as chili con carne, hash, meat stews, spaghetti sauces, deviled ham, bologna, and frankfurters, need not be identified with their true name, provided that, in the case of any of these products, it complies with the labeling standards prescribed in Section XV of the Connecticut Meat and Poultry Products Inspection Act.

(h) Grading terms may not be used in the labeling or advertising of meat unless the carcass or part thereof from which such meat is derived has been so marked by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. No qualifying words may be used with an official U.S. grade. Grading terms, such as "prime" or "choice," shall not be used in the labeling or advertising of pork.

(i) If a grading term other than "prime" or "choice" is used in labeling or advertising meat, the grading term used must appear contiguous to the true name of such meat and be at least equal in size and as prominent as the true name. "Packer graded" meat shall be so described if the packer name is used to indicate grade or quality.

(j) Qualifying statements, such as "water-added" or "chopped, shaped and cubed," shall be contiguous to the product name, not less than two-thirds of the size, and in the same style type as the product name.

(k) The term "larding" or "fat added" means the addition of fat in a uniform layer not more than ¼ inch in thickness surrounding the exterior of a roast with a thickness of not more than ¼ inch of fat in any portion thereof. If a piece of meat is larded, it shall contain the name thereof, the true name of the meat with the words "fat added" contiguous to the true name and not less than ⅔ of the size in the same style lettering as the true name. The fat shall be fat from the same species of animal as the meat to which it is added.

(l) The term "steak" when used in conjunction with meat shall mean the whole portion of meat as removed from the carcass. Ground or chopped meat shall not be labeled as steak.

(m) The term "hanging tender" means meat derived from the thick muscular dorsal attachment (pillar) of the diaphragm of cattle. Whenever such meat is labeled or advertised for sale at retail, the term "hanging tender" and only such term shall be used in said labeling or advertising and then only if used in conjunction with the term "pillar of diaphragm."

(n) For pork chops, the true name shall consist of one of the following primal sources: shoulder or blade, rib, loin, center, or loin end or sirloin. When a quarter loin is cut into chops and sold in a combination pack or family pack, the label shall specify the number of center cut pork chops and the number of end cut pork chops included in the package.

(Effective June 22, 1990)