June 14, 2021

 
USDA-South Dakota, US agreement supports interstate meat shipments  

The United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and US state South Dakota have finalised a Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) agreement, providing an opportunity for selected state-inspected meat and poultry processors to ship their products across US state lines.

Under CIS, South Dakota may inspect meat in selected establishments for shipment throughout the United States. CIS was launched in 2012 under US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack after being authorised in the 2008 Farm Bill.

With the addition of South Dakota, nine states are participating in the programme to promote the expansion of business opportunities for state-inspected meat and poultry establishments. Under CIS, selected state-inspected establishments that comply with federal inspection requirements are permitted to ship their products in interstate commerce.

"If we're going to strengthen our nation's food system and prevent supply chain bottlenecks before they occur, then we must continue to provide smaller meat processing establishments the opportunity to build their local and regional marketplaces," said Sandra Eskin, USDA's Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety.

"The Cooperative Interstate Shipment programme is a little-known but powerful tool designed to diversify the marketplace for meat and poultry processors while ensuring the safety of the meat and poultry products they produce. We want to work with other states to encourage participation in this important programme."

CIS is limited to establishments located in the 27 states that have established a Meat and Poultry Inspection (MPI) programme.

To be eligible to participate in CIS, state MPI programmes must meet a number of criteria to demonstrate that the inspections they provide to state-inspected plants will be the same as the inspection that FSIS provides to official federal establishments.

CIS was created by the 2008 Farm Bill.

In addition to South Dakota, FSIS has signed agreements with Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Vermont and Wisconsin.

- Food Safety News