Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), a member of the Senate Ag Committee, joined Mike Rounds (R-SD) in reintroducing the “New Markets for State-Inspected Meat and Poultry Act.”
The bipartisan legislation would allow meat and poultry products inspected by state Meat and Poultry Inspection Programs to be sold across state lines. Currently, meat and poultry products inspected by those state programs are limited to markets within the same state, even though inspection at a state facility meets or exceeds federal inspection standards.
More than half the states - 29, in total - have their own inspection programs.
“Iowa produces some of the best meat and poultry in the world, and high-quality products that have already passed a rigorous inspection process shouldn’t require any extra inspection to sell across state lines,” Grassley said. “Our commonsense legislation would remove this regulatory overreach and provide consumers with more options at their local meat counter.”
-NAFB