October 3, 2006

Union decry move to allow state-inspected plants to export out-of-state

State-inspected meat plants should apply for federal standards if they wish to export out of state, said the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), commenting on a recent USDA report that threw light on the meatpacking industry.

The report shows that several state-inspected plants have systematically failed to meet sanitation standards and put the public at risk from food borne illness.

The Federal Meat Inspection Act and Poultry Products Inspection Act allows states to inspect meat, but those plants are not allowed to ship those products out of state. Although the state inspection programmes are required to apply sanitation and health standards equal to those at federally inspected plants, several state programmes have continually failed to meet federal USDA standards, the UFCW said.

One difference between state-inspected plants and federally-inspected ones is that the latter has an inspector on-site everyday but inspectors are only on site at state-inspected plants periodically.

The USDA report details state-inspected meat plants that were allowed to continue despite unsanitary conditions, meat being cooked at incorrect temperatures and meat sold which did not meet safety standards.

The report should make Congress reconsider legislation that would allow meat from state-inspected plants to be sold anywhere in the country, said Michael J. Wilson, international vice president and director of UFCW's Legislative and Political Action Department.

State inspection is not the equivalent of federal inspection, Wilson said. To allow such a move after the recent

E. Coli incident in spinach is irresponsible, he added.

Relying on uneven state standards puts consumers and the industry in peril, he said. If state-inspected plants are allowed to export out of state with such poor standards, consumers would get sick, workers would suffer from plant closures and the whole meat industry would be impacted, Wilson warned.

Producers who wish to expand beyond selling to consumers in their own state must subject themselves completely to federal standards, he said. Continuous inspections and high standards of sanitation make those meat packing plants cleaner and safer and protects the industry and consumers at the same time. He added.