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IMPORTANCE
Currently, only meat certified by the federal meat inspection program is eligible for export to ensure trading partners’ standards are met. If state-inspected meat products are allowed into interstate commerce, the meat can also get into international commerce. Foreign trading partners are likely to raise serious concerns about the risk of state-inspected product being exported. U.S. exports are rigorously monitored for residues and contaminates by importing countries. They may view state inspections as lacking equivalency with their own inspection systems.
BACKGROUND
Under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, meat products can only be shipped between states if the product is certified by the federal meat inspection program. USDA has serious concerns about state meat-inspection programs and the Food Safety Inspection Service’s procedures for determining if a state’s inspections are “equal to” federal inspections. FSIS has determined it does not have the authority to oversee state meat-inspection laboratories because they are outside the scope of the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry and Poultry Products Act. FSIS has little assurance that state meat-inspection laboratories used for product sampling yield accurate, reliable and reproducible results, meaning that compliance with the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HAACP) system and residue testing are questionable.
NPPC POSITION
NPPC believes it would be a mistake to authorize interstate shipment of state-inspected meat and meat products unless there are provisions to protect export markets. Such protections might include giving specific authority for FSIS to oversee state laboratories and/or precluding state-inspected meat products from the export market. NPPC producer delegates rejected a resolution supporting federal legislation that allows state-inspected plants to ship interstate.
Agriculture and Industry Press Releases
Agriculture and Industry Testimony & Comments
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