USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the State of Oregon have signed a cooperative agreement. Through this agreement, meat products produced for shipments within the state will be inspected by the state inspection program.
In accordance with the terms of the cooperation agreement, the state inspection program is obligated to create, manage, and uphold standards that are “at least equivalent to” those mandated by the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA).
According to Sandra Eskin, Deputy Under Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), “today’s announcement with Oregon will assist improve our nation’s food system and help minimize supply chain bottlenecks.” “Smaller meat and poultry manufacturers may grow their local and state markets with the help of this initiative, which is helpful to them.”
There are now a total of 28 states that have some kind of state-run inspection system thanks to the entrance of Oregon.
Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS)
The state and the federal governments may conduct inspections of businesses located inside states that provide inspection programs. However, state-inspected goods can only be sold within the same state where they were manufactured. Along with providing training and other types of support, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture contributes up to half of the state’s operational budget.
State agencies are considered the FSIS’s most important partners and cooperation agreements between the agency and the impacted state agencies express our formal working relationships; as part of state meat and poultry inspection (MPI) programs, about 1,900 small and very small meat and poultry companies are inspected annually.
MPI Program
These programs are an essential component of the nation’s system for ensuring the safety of its food supply. The FSIS provides guidance to state MPI programs in accordance with these agreements, conducts at least one annual review of each state MPI program. Along with its requirements and activities, that contributes approximately sixty million dollars annually to support the state MPI programs that are currently in operation.
USDA Focus
The USDA is currently transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more:
- Resilient local and regional food production
- Fairer markets for all producers
- Ensuring access to safe
- Healthy and nutritious food in all communities
- Building new markets
- Streams of income for farmers
- Producers using climate-smart food
- Forestry practices
- Making historic investments in infrastructure
- Clean energy capabilities in rural America
- Committing to equity across the department by removing systemic barriers
- Building a workforce more representative of America
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