[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3546 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3546

   To amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products 
 Inspection Act to improve the safety of meat and poultry products by 
 enhancing the ability of the Secretary of Agriculture to retrieve the 
   history, use, and location of a meat or poultry product through a 
 recordkeeping and audit system or registered identification, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 20, 2003

Ms. DeGette (for herself, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Stark, and Mr. 
   English) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products 
 Inspection Act to improve the safety of meat and poultry products by 
 enhancing the ability of the Secretary of Agriculture to retrieve the 
   history, use, and location of a meat or poultry product through a 
 recordkeeping and audit system or registered identification, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Meat and Poultry Products 
Traceability and Safety Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. TRACEABILITY OF LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY.

    (a) Livestock.--Title I of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 
U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 25. TRACEABILITY OF LIVESTOCK, MEAT, AND MEAT PRODUCTS.

    ``(a) Definition of Traceability.--In this section, the term 
`traceability' means the ability to retrieve the history, use, and 
location of an article through a recordkeeping and audit system or 
registered identification.
    ``(b) Requirements.--
            ``(1) In general.--Cattle, sheep, swine, goats, and horses, 
        mules, and other equines presented for slaughter for human food 
        purposes, and the carcasses or parts of carcasses and the meat 
        and meat food products of those animals, shipped in interstate 
        commerce shall be identified in a manner that enables the 
        Secretary to trace--
                    ``(A) each animal to any premises or other location 
                at which the animal was held at any time before 
                slaughter; and
                    ``(B) each carcass or part of a carcass and meat 
                and meat food product of such animals forward from 
                slaughter through processing and distribution to the 
                ultimate consumer.
            ``(2) Traceability system.--The Secretary shall establish a 
        traceability system for all stages of production, processing, 
        and distribution of meat and meat food products that are 
        produced through the slaughter of animals described in 
        paragraph (1).
    ``(c) Prohibition or Restriction on Entry.--The Secretary may 
prohibit or restrict entry into any slaughtering establishment 
inspected under this Act of any cattle, sheep, swine, goats, or horses, 
mules, or other equines not identified as prescribed by the Secretary 
under subsection (b).
    ``(d) Records.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may require that each 
        person, firm, and corporation required to identify livestock 
        pursuant to subsection (b) maintain accurate records, as 
        prescribed by the Secretary, regarding the purchase, sale, and 
        identification of the livestock.
            ``(2) Access.--Each person, firm, and corporation described 
        in paragraph (1) shall, at all reasonable times, on notice by a 
        duly authorized representative of the Secretary, allow the 
        representative to access to each place of business of the 
        person, firm, or corporation to examine and copy the records 
        described in paragraph (1).
            ``(3) Duration.--Each person, firm, and corporation 
        described in paragraph (1) shall maintain records required to 
        be maintained under this subsection for such period of time as 
        the Secretary prescribes.
    ``(e) False Information.--No person, firm, or corporation shall 
falsify or misrepresent to any other person, firm, or corporation, or 
to the Secretary, any information as to any premises at which any 
cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equines, or 
carcasses thereof, were held.
    ``(f) Alteration or Destruction of Records.--No person, firm, or 
corporation shall, without authorization from the Secretary, alter, 
detach, or destroy any records or other means of identification 
prescribed by the Secretary for use in determining the premises at 
which were held any cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or 
other equines, or the carcasses thereof.''.
    (b) Poultry.--The Poultry Products Inspection Act is amended by 
inserting after section 23 (21 U.S.C. 467e) the following:

``SEC. 23A. TRACEABILITY OF POULTRY AND POULTRY PRODUCTS.

    ``(a) Definition of Traceability.--In this section, the term 
`traceability' means the ability to retrieve the history, use, and 
location of an article through a recordkeeping and audit system or 
registered identification.
    ``(b) Requirements.--
            ``(1) In general.--Poultry presented for slaughter for 
        human food purposes and poultry products shipped in interstate 
        commerce shall be identified in a manner that enables the 
        Secretary to trace--
                    ``(A) each animal to any premises or other location 
                at which the animal was held at any time before 
                slaughter; and
                    ``(B) each poultry product forward from slaughter 
                through processing and distribution to the ultimate 
                consumer.
            ``(2) Traceability system.--The Secretary shall establish a 
        traceability system for all stages of production, processing, 
        and distribution of poultry and poultry food products that are 
        produced through the slaughter of animals described in 
        paragraph (1).
    ``(c) Prohibition or Restriction on Entry.--The Secretary may 
prohibit or restrict entry into any slaughtering establishment 
inspected under this Act of any poultry not identified as prescribed by 
the Secretary.
    ``(d) Records.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may require that each 
        person, firm, and corporation required to identify poultry 
        pursuant to subsection (b) maintain accurate records, as 
        prescribed by the Secretary, regarding the purchase, sale, and 
        identification of the poultry.
            ``(2) Access.--Each person, firm, and corporation described 
        in paragraph (1) shall, at all reasonable times, on notice by a 
        duly authorized representative of the Secretary, allow the 
        representative to access to each place of business of the 
        person, firm, or corporation to examine and copy the records 
        described in paragraph (1).
            ``(3) Duration.--Each person, firm, and corporation 
        described in paragraph (1) shall maintain records required to 
        be maintained under this subsection for such period of time as 
        the Secretary prescribes.
    ``(e) False Information.--No person, firm, or corporation shall 
falsify or misrepresent to any other person, firm, or corporation, or 
to the Secretary, any information as to any premises at which any 
poultry, or carcasses thereof, were held.
    ``(f) Alteration or Destruction of Records.--No person, firm, or 
corporation shall, without authorization from the Secretary, alter, 
detach, or destroy any records or other means of identification 
prescribed by the Secretary for use in determining the premises at 
which were held any poultry or the carcasses thereof.''.
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