Meat Contamination Prevention Act of 2010

Meat Contamination Prevention Act of 2010 - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to permit an entity that purchases carcasses, carcass parts, meat, or meat food products that have been inspected and found to be unadulterated to perform or cause to be performed at the entity's expense a further examination to ensure that the products remain unadulterated.

Prohibits a person, firm, or corporation from preventing (by contract or any other means) such further examination. Subjects a violator of such prohibition to imprisonment and/or fine.

Makes similar amendments to the Poultry Products Inspection Act.

[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4750 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4750

     To amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act and Poultry Products 
Inspection Act to improve food safety by supporting efforts by entities 
 that purchase beef, pork, or poultry products to further examine the 
   products to ensure they remain safe for human consumption and to 
  prohibit interference with such examination efforts, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 3, 2010

Mr. Schauer (for himself, Mr. McMahon, Ms. DeGette, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. 
 Connolly of Virginia, and Ms. Sutton) introduced the following bill; 
           which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act and Poultry Products 
Inspection Act to improve food safety by supporting efforts by entities 
 that purchase beef, pork, or poultry products to further examine the 
   products to ensure they remain safe for human consumption and to 
  prohibit interference with such examination efforts, 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 Contamination Prevention Act of 
2010''.

SEC. 2. PURCHASER EXAMINATION OF PREVIOUSLY INSPECTED BEEF, PORK, AND 
              POULTRY PRODUCTS.

    (a) Federal Meat Inspection Act.--Section 6 of the Federal Meat 
Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 606) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(e) Purchaser Examination.--
            ``(1) Examination authorized.--Nothing in this section or 
        section 4 precludes an entity that purchases carcasses, parts 
        of carcasses, meat or meat food products authorized to be 
        inspected at any establishment under the authority of this 
        title and found to be not adulterated from performing, or 
        causing to be performed at the expense of the entity, a further 
        examination of the products to ensure that the products remain 
        unadulterated.
            ``(2) Prohibition against interference with purchaser 
        examination.--A person, firm, or corporation otherwise subject 
        to this title may not prohibit (via contract or any other 
        means) an entity described in paragraph (1) from performing, or 
        causing to be performed, a further examination of carcasses, 
        parts of carcasses, meat or meat food products authorized by 
        such paragraph.
            ``(3) Penalties.--Any person, firm, or corporation who 
        violates paragraph (2) shall, upon conviction, be subject to 
        imprisonment for not more than three years, or a fine of not 
        more than $10,000, or both such imprisonment and fine.''.
    (b) Poultry Products Inspection Act.--Section 6 of the Poultry 
Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 455) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Purchaser Examination.--
            ``(1) Examination authorized.--Nothing in this section 
        precludes an entity that purchases poultry carcasses and parts 
        thereof or other poultry products inspected at any 
        establishment under the authority of this Act and found to be 
        not adulterated from performing, or causing to be performed at 
        the expense of the entity, a further examination of the 
        products to ensure that the products remain unadulterated.
            ``(2) Prohibition against interference with purchaser 
        examination.--A person, firm, or corporation otherwise subject 
        to this Act may not prohibit (via contract or any other means) 
        an entity described in paragraph (1) from performing, or 
        causing to be performed, a further examination of poultry 
        carcasses and parts thereof or other poultry products 
        authorized by such paragraph.
            ``(3) Penalties.--Any person, firm, or corporation who 
        violates paragraph (2) shall be fined not more than $10,000 or 
        imprisoned not more than three years, or both.''.
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