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Meat inspection program faulted, state vet saysPIERRE, S.D. (AP)--For years, Sam Holland has been pushing to allow state-inspected meat plants to peddle their products in interstate commerce. The new farm bill allows that, but Holland--who is the state veterinarian and executive secretary of the South Dakota Animal Industry Board--is not enthused because of the federal red tape tied to the program. A federal inspector would still have oversight of meat examined by state inspectors, and those products would carry federal inspection stamps instead of state inspection stamps, he said. "It involves state inspectors doing the inspections, with federal oversight in every case, to the extent that there would be a federal coordinator specifically assigned for each state," Holland said. "If you have federally marked products, is it really interstate shipment of state-inspected products? When it goes out of a plant with the federal mark of inspection, many people would contend that that is indeed federally inspected product, not state-inspected product." Steve Cutler, who is the federal government's Farm Service Agency executive director in South Dakota, does not disagree. The new farm bill requires federal oversight of state-inspected meats that will be shipped across state borders, he said. Cutler has been holding farm bill hearings across the state and said the issue of state-inspected meats has not come up. In fact, he's received no feedback at all. "Nobody has called me on it. It has not been an issue at any of my meetings," Cutler said. Holland said the new provision in the farm bill is unlikely to be used by any meat processors in South Dakota because they already can ship in interstate commerce if they agree to federal inspection of their meats. "It's doubtful that any plants would request it in South Dakota, and it's equally doubtful that our state would be interested establishing a new inspection system," he said. "If it were really, truly interstate shipment, that product would have the state mark of inspection and be allowed to ship interstate, just like foreign meats," Holland added. Several small meat plants in South Dakota have requested federal inspection over the years so those firms can ship their products to customers across state lines, he said. The new farm bill essentially changes nothing, Holland said. "It's really some feel-good legislation by folks who were intent on accomplishing the goal of changing the law to provide for interstate shipment of state-inspected products, but in their willingness to compromise with those in opposition, they've really come up with a program that uses state inspectors and federal oversight and the federal mark of inspection, not the state mark of inspection." 8/25/08 Date: 8/20/08
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