Hatch: Tear Down Interstate Meat Shipment Barrier

Press Release

HATCH: TEAR DOWN INTERSTATE MEAT SHIPMENT BARRIER

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) today introduced legislation that would place Utah's smaller meat-packing plants on a level playing field with national and foreign meat producers. The New Markets for State-Inspected Meat and Poultry Act of 2007 would overturn an archaic provision in the law which prevents interstate shipment of state-inspected meat.

"This ban hurts Utah's ranchers and small business owners, and there's no reason for it - it's a raw deal," Hatch said. "State inspection programs are proven to be as thorough as Federal programs, yet state-inspected meat can't be shipped even from Utah to Colorado. We need to update this unnecessary, unjust ban that puts our small businesses at such a disadvantage."

Federal law requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to inspect all meat products, and in the late 1960s Congress created state inspection programs that are mandated to be "at least equal to" the Federal inspection program. Utah has 32 plants authorized to inspect meat, part of nearly 2,000 plants nationwide largely run by small businesses that cater to the needs of small, family-run farms and ranches.

Perishable products — including milk and other dairy items, fruit, vegetables, and fish — are freely shipped across state lines after state inspection. But standard meat products, like poultry, beef, and pork, are prohibited from interstate commerce, despite decades of meeting or surpassing the Federal inspection standards. Hatch's bill would remove this prohibition.

"Three USDA Advisory Committees have long recommended that we remove this barrier," Hatch said. "The ban blatantly disrupts free trade, restricts market access for small businesses, and creates an unfair advantage for big businesses."

Furthermore, current regulations allow meat inspected in 34 foreign countries to be shipped throughout the U.S. because the USDA has certified that the inspection programs in these foreign countries are equivalent to the Federal program. State inspection programs must meet the same Federal equivalency standard, and USDA supervises state programs more frequently and thoroughly than foreign inspection programs.

"It's preposterous that meat inspected overseas can be shipped anywhere in the United States without restriction, but Utah's small businesses can't legally sell their wares across state lines," Hatch said. "State inspectors meet the same food safety requirements. We shouldn't hold Utah's meat producers at a stricter standard than their foreign competitors."

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