WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) and Dr. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) have recently come together to introduce legislation that would create opportunities for online direct-to-consumer meat and poultry sales for producers, processors, and small meat markets.
The Direct Interstate Retail Exemption for Certain Transaction (DIRECT) Act (S.3099) would amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) and the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) to allow for the interstate internet sales of certain state-inspected meat and poultry, while also preserving food safety standards, Sen. Hyde-Smith’s team said in a release.
“As we look at markets now and into the future, we should explore every opportunity to help family farms and ranches succeed,” Hyde-Smith said. “The DIRECT Act does just that. It would give meat and poultry producers a safe, straightforward way to sell to consumers directly by making federal regulations work for them, not against them.”
“The last thing our livestock producers need is more red tape,” Sen. Marshall added. “Like many states, Kansas has strong meat inspection standards that already meet federal requirements. By creating a simple exemption, the DIRECT Act uplifts our ranchers by empowering them to sell their high-quality beef in innovative ways across state lines.”
By altering the retail exemption under FMIA and PPIA, the DIRECT Act would allow processors and retailers to sell normal retail amounts of state-inspected meat online to customers across the country. Since these would be e-commerce sales, everything will be traceable and easily recalled if necessary.
Mississippi is among 27 states that have meat and poultry inspection programs approved of similar standards set under FMIA and PPIA. However, current law restricts the sale of meat and poultry processed at state-inspected facilities across state lines, even if state standards are “at least equal” to FMIA and PPIA standards, Hyde-Smith’s team noted.
In addition to online retail sales to consumers, the DIRECT Act would minimize the risk for further processing in export and keep equivalency agreements with trading partners intact. Also, to prevent risking access to the international trade market, it would prohibit the export of MPI products and not allow custom-exempt processors to ship meat in interstate commerce.
Multiple organizations, like the American Farm Bureau Federation, endorse this legislation.
