Meat industry groups, including the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the North American Meat Institute are opposed to the Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption (PRIME) Act. The objective of the Bill is to allow intrastate distribution of custom-slaughtered meat to retail customers.
Opposition to the Bill is based on food safety concerns. There are also legislative implications since the proposed PRIME Act would conflict with the Federal Meat Inspection Act.
Julie Anna Potts, President and CEO of the North American Meat Institute, stated, “Allowing meat to enter commerce without inspection and without alerting consumers they are buying uninspected meat jeopardizes food safety and will undermine consumer confidence in all meat products.” In terms of federal-state cooperative agreements, the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the USDA ultimately has oversight of operations with respect to ante-mortem and post- slaughter inspection with appropriate traceback.
Potts noted, “While this Bill may be well intentioned, it poses unnecessary risks, given the many resources available to help new and small facilities gain inspection from FSIS.”
Todd Wilkinson, President of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, stated, “Our organization is in favor of reducing regulatory burdens but not at the expense of food safety.” He added, “Allowing uninspected beef to enter the retail market is dangerous to consumers.”