Due to a lack in understanding new scale technology and label planning, the space on a meat scale label is often times used ineffectively. Due to this inefficiency, the intended purpose of the URMIS system is often times overlooked.

The meat industry is a consumer driven industry. In order for suppliers and retailers to stay competitive they must stay aware of the changes in consumer trends. The meat industry, like many industries, has experienced many consumer changes over the past few decades. Because of a faster-paced life, more consumers are making convenience-based buying decisions. Knowing this, retailers and suppliers now lean toward, not only more recipe-oriented, further-prepared meat products, but also ready-to-eat, pre-cooked meat items. The demand for these products has forced retailers to be more descriptive in the labeling of their products. Along with these changes, the original ideology of the creators of URMIS has been lost.

With these consumer trends altering to more convenience foods, marketing has also changed. Marketing is now geared towards broader audiences based on consumer buying decisions at the supermarket. With this change, marketing now includes several forms of advertising, not only on television and radio, but stickers, graphics, logos and a plethora of other items found directly on a package of meat. With these new items being added, labeling can become confusing, and URMIS can become contaminated with agendas that were never a part of its original purpose.

The role of suppliers has drastically changed due to consumer trends and labeling changes. Suppliers now create products that are processed, wrapped, branded and then shipped to retailers. In the past a supplier sent a box of meat to the store to be processed; now more case ready foods are received at the retailer’s location and are placed directly into the case. With this in mind, it is crucial that suppliers and retailers work together and have the same standards and clear communication to make these new changes work smoothly.

With all of these items changing and the threat of terrorism and new safe measures that need to be taken, regulatory changes have also changed. What once was required on a package of meat might have been hand-written. Now, the requirements are far and above one or two items on a package of meat.

Due to changes in consumer trends, marketing, suppliers and regulations, meat labeling has become more complex and diverse than in the past. Meat labeling is crucial in product identification for security, tracking, creating uniqueness and authenticity of products, sales data for marketing and graphics and logos to aid in consumer decision making.

Currently, many people want to use URMIS as the “cure-all” for their marketing and merchandising agendas. By reading through the Meat Labeling Requirements section of Meattrack.com, we understand what information is regulated on the label. With this knowledge we can see how to use the meat label space properly to achieve regulatory standards, ensure exact data analysis and marketing and merchandising agendas, without misusing the space allocated for the URMIS descriptions.

The original intended purpose of URMIS was “to standardize names by which cuts of meat are known and labeled, and provide guidance to retailers truly interested in helping their customer learn more about meat identification and utilization. The objective is to reduce and, if possible, eliminate consumer confusion.”¹ At the time of its creation, URMIS was never intended to be about marketing and merchandising agendas.

Some people believe that the URMIS system is meant to be used for marketing purposes, but it is not. There are many other options in achieving regulatory standards and marketing agendas.

URMIS is a tool that can be used from the packer to the consumer. It is not only a tool to help eliminate consumer confusion, but it is a tool to help in communication between internal industry parties such as suppliers and retailers. With the changes in consumer demands and more convenience foods being sold, it is important that the supplier and retailer work with each other to accomplish the industry goals. Furthermore, if everyone used URMIS we can achieve more accurate data, for sales analysis. By using URMIS on the scale label it ties all parties in the industry together.

Today, top scale companies provide sometimes up to 54 extra text characters and can get down to 1 point font size in the lettering. Other companies can design graphics and marketing information into your label design complete with required information. With these new capabilities, there are plenty of creative options to accommodate all of what is required, as well as the marketing and merchandising information on the package of meat, without using the URMIS description space for an unintended purpose.

Using the URMIS system on your meat scale label with its intended purpose, benefits all parties in the industry, by creating standardization. When standardization is achieved improved sales and profits will follow.



1. Uniform Retail Meat Identity Standards. Industrywide Cooperative Meat Identification Standards Committee. Published by the National Live Stock & Meat Board, Chicago, Illinois, 1995.

Back to URMIS Homepage