I recently purchased a Stouffer’s Macaroni & Beef frozen meal. The box cover advertises “30% More Meat” with an asterisk. The asterisk leads to small print that says “Required by the Macaroni & Beef in Sauce Standard.” The what?
A standard that requires more protein in a dish sounds like a good thing. But what entity is behind this “standard.” Well, the box doesn’t say.
So, first, I searched the internet, of course. The only thing I could find that was even close to relevant was a March 14, 2023, commercial item description (CID) of “macaroni and beef in tomato sauce” from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The fact that we have CIDs for food items seems like an overreach by the administrative state. Requiring a detailed list of ingredients on the packaging is one thing. Banning certain unhealthy chemicals and ingredients in food also is good. And having general requirements about freshness of food items and things like that also are fine. But having to describe noodle types and other aspects of macaroni and beef in tomato sauce doesn’t sound necessary.
However, one thing that the CID for “macaroni and beef in tomato sauce” doesn’t have is a “sauce standard.”
All the document says is: “The sauce shall contain tomato puree or tomato paste. The sauce may contain diced tomatoes, onions, peppers, mushrooms, sweeteners, thickeners, salt, and spices, including garlic and other spices common to tomato-based sauce.”
It doesn’t say how much meat it needs.
So, next I contacted Stouffer’s, a unit of conglomerate Nestle. They never responded. So, the mystery continues.
