§683 Interstate Shipment of Meat Inspected by Federal and State Agencies for Certain Small Establishments

Summary

Allows the Secretary of Agriculture to let certain small, state‑inspected meat plants ship meat across state lines and use a federal inspection mark if they meet rules, the state agency agrees, and trained state inspectors supervise. Definitions: appropriate State agency = the state office that runs the state meat inspection program; designated personnel = state inspection staff trained and certified to help the Secretary; eligible establishment = a plant that follows the state inspection program and the federal meat rules; meat item = a cut of meat or a meat food product; selected establishment = an eligible plant chosen to ship meat interstate. The Secretary can pick plants to ship interstate and apply a federal mark only if the meat qualifies, the plant is eligible, and inspection is done by designated personnel. The Secretary must not pick plants that on average employ more than 25 people; plants already shipping under federal inspection at the law’s enactment; federal plants or plants reorganized from federal or certain larger state plants; plants violating the law; plants in states without a state inspection program; or plants already in a transition process. The Secretary may make a procedure to move plants that consistently have more than 25 employees to full federal inspection. State plants that had more than 25 but fewer than 35 employees at enactment may be picked now but will enter the transition rules starting 3 years after the rule’s effective date. The Secretary must pay states at least 60% of eligible inspection costs. A federal State coordinator will oversee each state, visit selected plants, send quarterly reports, and immediately notify and stop or deselect any plant that breaks the rules. The Inspector General will audit actions within 2 years and at least every 3 years after that; the Government Accountability Office will audit once between 3 and 5 years to review how the program works and count selected plants. The Secretary must set up a technical assistance division in FSIS within 180 days after the rule is effective to provide outreach, training, and grants to very small and certain small plants and states. Grants for transitions are allowed. If a selected plant breaks the rules, it will be moved to federal inspection under the Secretary’s procedure. The program starts when the Secretary issues final rules after public comment, and those final rules must be issued within 18 months of enactment.