Farm bill would transfer meat inspection to states

WASHINGTON (MCT) — Under pressure from the meat industry and several states, Congress may be on the verge of eliminating a 40-year-old requirement that meat and poultry sold across state lines be federally inspected.

A little-noticed provision tacked on to the House farm bill passed in July would give states more authority to inspect meat and poultry and allow state-inspected meat to enter interstate commerce.

A lobbying battle is expected to erupt this week pitting states, farm groups and smaller meat packers against consumer groups and labor unions who warn that the change jeopardizes the safety of meat.

As it stands, 27 states — Missouri and Illinois among them — operate under federally supervised state systems requiring meat inspections "at least equal to" those conducted under federal rules.

Packers and processors in those states have the option of submitting to federal or state inspections. Usually, smaller operations choose state regulations. But their meat can't be sold beyond the state's borders or over the Internet.

For instance, Andy Cloud, who manages the family-owned Cloud Meats Inc., in Carthage Mo., lamented that even though his southwest Missouri business is less than 30 miles from Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma, he can't sell meat to any of those states. Nor, he said, can his family take advantage of "the entire world of business" opened by the Internet.

States are supposed to be as rigorous in inspections as the federal government, but Cloud said federal visits can be more difficult and time-consuming for small operators.

"We're just a bunch of good old boys down here. Sometimes it takes special people to deal with all that," he said.

Missouri has been in the forefront of pushing for the change, arguing that about 35 processors in the state are disadvantaged by the rules, particularly in light of increased imports of foreign meat.

"If we want to open more markets up to American agriculture products abroad, we ought to start opening them at home first," House Minority Leader Roy Blunt, R-Mo., a chief sponsor of the new state-inspection rules, said in a statement.

While Illinois hasn't played a leading role, the Illinois Association of Meat Processors is among some 75 organizations that have joined a coalition pushing for the change.