Meat/Poultry Inspection

Safe Food Coalition Opposes Latest Bill to Deregulate Meat and Poultry Inspection

Members of the Safe Food Coalition sent the following letter urging congressional leaders to vote against legislation that would lift prohibitions on the interstate sale of meat and poultry from state-inspected facilities. The letter reiterates previous opposition to such legislative proposals, and explains why a new bill, H.R. 7425, the Direct Interstate Retail Exemption for Certain Transactions Act of 2021, would similarly compromise food safety. H.R. 7425 would rewrite meat and poultry inspection laws to allow internet sales of meat and poultry from state-inspected facilities anywhere in the country, no matter how deficient the state inspection program. Under the Act, consumers could potentially end up buying state-inspected meat and poultry on sites like Amazon.com, without even knowing it. Not all state meat and poultry inspection programs are as rigorous as federal inspection, and there is already a program—the Cooperative Interstate Shipment program—that allows interstate sales from state-inspected facilities without compromising protections for consumers. Like previous proposals to deregulate meat and poultry inspection, H.R. 7425 would do little to address the anticompetitive market conditions that led to shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic.