Members of the Safe Food Coalition sent the following letter to congressional leaders urging them to oppose legislation that would lift prohibitions on the interstate sale of meat and poultry from state inspected facilities and allow commercial sales from uninspected “custom” slaughter facilities. In particular, the letter criticizes S. 1512, the Direct Interstate Retail Exemption for Certain Transactions Act of 2023 (“DIRECT Act”), H.R. 2814, the Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption Act (“PRIME Act”), and S. 846, the New Markets for State-Inspected Meat and Poultry Act of 2023 (“New Markets Act”), as efforts that would compromise established food safety standards for consumers in exchange for speculative, thinly supported benefits. The letter goes on to recommend that Congress explore more meaningful interventions to support smaller meat and poultry processors, such as reforms to USDA overtime inspection fees, which disproportionately affect smaller firms.
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