![Just bare chicken no hormones_an]()
Walk through the meat section of the grocery store, and you'll notice the dizzying array of claims on food packaging. It's enough to frazzle anyone.
"Organic.""All natural.""GMO free.""Grass fed.""Cage free.""Cruelty free.""Hormone free." These and other labels are everywhere on meat.
If they confuse you, you're not alone. Many of these phrases don't mean what you might think.
But when it comes to any poultry or pork products — we're talking chicken, bacon, turkey, ducks, pork chops, and pork or chicken sausages — there's one claim that is especially unnecessary: "hormone free" or "no added hormones."
This label might make you believe that the product is different or healthier than similar products without that label.
But the reality is that all poultry and pork sold in the US must be "hormone free."
The US Food and Drug Administration has not approved any growth hormones for use in raising pigs and birds for food, therefore the US Department of Agriculture does not allow it.
In short: It's illegal to sell pork or poultry in the US that was raised with added hormones.
![Chickens Farm]()
In fact, manufacturers can't add a "no hormones" label on any package of pork or poultry unless it's accompanied by a disclaimer that says,"federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones."
That disclaimer is supposed to prevent confusion. But often, manufacturers will shrink, minimize, or obscure it while blowing up a "hormone free" claim.
Check out this package of chicken, for example. The average consumer may not notice the starred disclaimer in tiny, thin font during a quick shopping trip:
![Just bare chicken no hormones_an2_cropped]()
The same goes for these grilled chicken strips:
![TysonGrilledandReady_an]()
And while this deli turkey displays the disclaimer more visibly than others, it's still in smaller and thinner font than the "without added hormones" claim above it:
![hormel natural choice meats an]()
To date, the FDA has only approved the use of steroid hormones in sheep and cows raised for beef. Under the current regulations, there are no approved uses of steroid hormones in dairy cows, veal calves, pigs, or poultry (there is, however, an approved use of the non-steroidal hormone bovine somatotropin (bST or rbST) in dairy cows to increase their milk production).
Farmers and big meat companies may pump their livestock full of such growth-promoting drugs — which can include natural and synthetic versions of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone — to increase their weight. These drugs help the animal convert their feed into muscle, fat, and other tissues more efficiently than they would naturally.
There is debate within the scientific community over whether these added drugs can harm the health of humans, so when given the chance, companies will market their products as such (even when unnecessary).
So if you're deciding between a package of pork or poultry that says "no hormones added" and a less expensive package that doesn't make this claim, you can rest assured that they're both the same — at least in the added hormone department.
And while you're at it, pay no mind to the "natural" label either. The FDA has "not developed a definition" for the term, so it can mean anything or nothing at all.
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: Meat lovers rate fake and real chicken nuggets in a blind taste test
McDonald's is already on the comeback trail. It posted a 5.7% year-over-year gain in comps for its stateside restaurants during the holiday quarter, the chain's biggest gain in years. It was the first time that comps for the fourth quarter weren't negative since 2012. 
