Rounds bill gets state-inspected meat, poultry sold across state lines

U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) on March 16 led a bipartisan contingent of lawmakers in introducing legislation that would allow the interstate sale of state-inspected meat and poultry.

“Our bipartisan bill would allow these high-quality products that pass federally equivalent state inspection standards to be sold across state lines, which would open up new markets for our producers and give consumers more choices at the grocery store,” said Sen. Rounds, who sponsored the New Markets for State-Inspected Meat and Poultry Act of 2023, S. 846.

Ten original cosponsors joined Sen. Rounds in introducing S. 846, including U.S. Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT), Jon Tester (D-MT), John Thune (R-SD), Angus King (I-ME), and John Hoeven (R-ND). U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) on March 17 introduced the companion bill, H.R. 1646, in the U.S. House.

Currently, 29 states have inspection programs certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service that meet or exceed federal inspection standards, though products processed at these federally approved state meat and poultry inspected (MPI) facilities are not currently allowed to be sold across state lines, according to a one-page bill summary provided by Sen. Rounds’ office.

If enacted, S. 846 would allow meat and poultry products inspected by Food Safety and Inspection Service-approved state MPI programs to be sold across state lines.

“South Dakota producers raise some of the highest-quality meat and poultry in the world,” said Sen. Rounds. “However, meat and poultry products are limited to markets within the state even though they are required to go through inspection at a state facility that meets or exceeds federal inspection standards. This is a disadvantage to producers and consumers alike.”

At the same time, the bill would not explicitly allow for products inspected by state MPI programs to be exported. And while it is highly likely that foreign governments would still require federal inspection for exports, foreign governments could theoretically enter into an agreement with an individual state at some point in the future, the summary says.

S. 846 is endorsed by the South Dakota Farmers Union, South Dakota Stockgrowers, the South Dakota Farm Bureau, and R-CALF USA.

Sen. Rounds also introduced the legislation in the 115th, 116th and 117th sessions of Congress.