Posted: October 9th, 2007 - 7:46am by Doug Powell

I don't know much about farm bills and state versus federal inspection.

But claims that,

"U.S. consumers enjoy the safest meat and poultry products in the world,"

especially as E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks in the U.S. appear on the rise and more sick people are identified in Wisconsin, seems to be the height of hubris.

But that's what Ron de Yong, director of the Montana Department of Agriculture, wrote in the Montana Billings Gazette this morning.

An outdated federal law prohibits state-inspected plants from selling products across state lines despite a provision in the law that requires these plants to have safety standards that equal or exceed those of USDA-inspected facilities. …

There are many reasons to abolish the 1967 prohibition on interstate shipments of state-inspected meat. … Enabling interstate sales of state-inspected meat and poultry will provide economic fairness and open markets. New marketing opportunities not only will benefit producers, processors and small businesses, but also will give consumers more choices at the supermarket. This change is common sense and it's the right thing to do.

Maybe. But spouting off about the safest anything in the world without the comparative data to back up such claims seems like a bad way to sell an idea.

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