OCR Text |
Show Volume II , Issue III Page 7 The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS December 1999 Hatch Bill Opens New Opportunities for Utah Meat and Poultry Processors Utah Commissioner of Agriculture and Food, Cary G. Peterson applauds legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch that would allow stateinspected meat and poultry to be distributed across state and international borders. The bill, if eventually enacted, will mean greater economic opportunities for Utah businesses, expanded choice for consumers and more competition within the meatpacking industry. “We have tried for years to balance the playing field for Utah processors who are state inspected,” said Commissioner Cary G. Peterson. “The inspection program in Utah has consistently been a model for other states as well as the federal inspection system,” said Peterson. Utah’s meat inspection system, which falls under the authority of UDAF’s Division of Animal Industry is one of the few states to be awarded a “Category I” ranking by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This is the highest category available. Senator Hatch’s bill has the support of consumer groups, meat packing companies, the USDA, and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA). The New Markets for State Inspected Meat Act of 1999, introduced November 19, by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah and Sen. Tom Daschle, D-SD, will lift the outdated ban on interstate distribution of stateinspected meat, and provide long-term relief to U.S. livestock producers. This legislation will finally end a long-standing inequity in meat inspection laws,” Hatch said. The market will now be open for some 3,000 meat processors in about half of the states.” Major provisions of the bill: 1) State programs would move away from their current “at least equal to” standard and, instead, begin to implement Federal meat and poultry inspection laws and regulations, thereby creating a seamless relationship between the state and federal inspection standards. 2) The new plan would be implemented by October 1, 2002. 3) Prior to October 1, 2001, the USDA will review the state programs to identify the steps needed for the shift to implementing federal standards. 4) States will be required to demonstrate that all the steps are taken for the transition, including full implementation of the HACCP standards. 5) State programs will be free to impose standards beyond federal requirements. 6) USDA would continue annual review process of state programs to ensure they meet the requirements of the program. 7) USDA will test for Salmonella in state-inspected plants and will cover the cost for such testing. 8) USDA will conduct sampling of both Federal and state inspected products throughout the distribution chain. 9) Currently the Federal government pays for 50 percent of the costs of the state inspection program. The new law would increase the Federal share to 60 percent. 10) States will have the option of controlling how many establishments make the shift from federal to state inspection. Establishments will be barred from switching from one program to the other to one switch every four years. 11) The Secretary will retain primary jurisdiction in matters such as labeling and seizure and detention. |