HB 1446 – AS INTRODUCED

2012 SESSION

12-2263

08/05

HOUSE BILL 1446

AN ACT relative to the meat inspection program.

SPONSORS: Rep. Harding, Graf 11; Rep. Haefner, Hills 27; Rep. Sad, Ches 2; Sen. Luther, Dist 12

COMMITTEE: Environment and Agriculture

ANALYSIS

This bill excepts equines from inspection, processing, and sale as meat.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

12-2263

08/05

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve

AN ACT relative to the meat inspection program.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Meat Food Product; Definition. Amend RSA 472:2, IV to read as follows:

IV. “Meat food product” means any product capable of use as human food which is made wholly or in part from any meat or other portion of the carcass of any cattle, sheep, swine, or goats, excepting products which contain meat or other portions of such carcasses only in a relatively small portion or historically have not been considered by consumers as products of the meat food industry, and which are exempted from definition as a meat food product by the commissioner under such conditions as the commissioner may prescribe to assure that the meat or other portions of such carcasses contained in such product are not adulterated and that such products are not represented as meat food products. [This term as applied to food products of equines shall have a meaning comparable to that provided in this paragraph with respect to cattle, sheep, swine, and goats.]

2 Meat Inspector; Definition. Amend RSA 472:2, XIX to read as follows:

XIX. “Meat inspector” means a person who examines and inspects all livestock, excepting equines, and all carcasses and parts thereof, and all meat and meat food products thereof, and the sanitary conditions of all establishments in which such meat and meat food products are prepared.

3 Establishment; Slaughter; Definitions. Amend RSA 472:2, XXI-XXII to read as follows:

XXI. “Establishment” means a facility in which livestock, excepting equines, or poultry are slaughtered and packed or a facility in which meat food products are processed.

XXII. “Slaughter” means the act of killing livestock, excepting equines, for human consumption.

4 Inspections; Equines Excepted. Amend RSA 472:3-a, I(a) to read as follows:

(a) Procedures used in ante mortem and postmortem inspections, quarantine, segregation, and reinspections with respect to the slaughter of livestock, excepting equines, and the preparation of meat food products at all establishments in this state, including procedures for obtaining access to establishments under RSA 427:6.

5 Rulemaking; Equines Excepted. Amend RSA 427:3-a, II(d) to read as follows:

(d) Conditions under which carcasses, part of carcasses, meat, and meat food products of livestock, excepting equines, capable of use as human food, shall be stored or otherwise handled by any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of buying, selling, freezing, storing, or transporting such articles in or for commerce. Such rules may be adopted whenever the commissioner deems such action necessary to assure that such articles will not be adulterated or misbranded when delivered to the consumer.

6 Examinations and Inspections; Equines Excepted. Amend RSA 427:4, I-II to read as follows:

I. An examination and inspection of all livestock, excepting equines, before they shall be allowed to enter into any slaughtering establishment in this state in which slaughtering and preparation of meat and meat food products of such animals are conducted solely for commerce:

(a) All livestock, excepting equines, show symptoms of disease shall be set apart and slaughtered separately from all other livestock; and

(b) When so slaughtered, the carcasses of said livestock, excepting equines, shall be subject to a careful examination and inspection, all as provided by the rules adopted by the commissioner pursuant to RSA 541-A.

II. A postmortem examination and inspection of the carcasses and parts thereof of all livestock capable of use as human food, excepting equines, to be prepared at any slaughtering, establishment in this state in which such articles are prepared solely for intrastate commerce, and interstate commerce when authorized. After the examination:

(a) The carcasses and parts thereof of all such animals found to be not adulterated shall be marked, stamped, tagged, or labeled, as “New Hampshire Inspected and Passed” and all carcasses and parts thereof of animals found to be adulterated shall be marked, stamped, tagged, or labeled as “New Hampshire Inspected and Condemned”;

(b) All carcasses and parts thereof thus inspected and condemned shall be destroyed for food purposes by the establishment in the presence of an inspector;

(c) Said inspectors, after the first inspection, shall, when they deem it necessary, reinspect the carcasses or parts thereof to determine whether, since the first inspection, the same have become adulterated. If any carcass or any part thereof shall, upon examination and inspection subsequent to the first examination and inspection, be found to be adulterated, it shall be destroyed for food purposes by the establishment in the presence of an inspector; and

(d) The commissioner may remove inspectors from any establishment which fails to destroy any such condemned carcass or part thereof when the requirements of either subparagraph II(b) or (c) have not been observed.

7 Carcasses; Equines Excepted. Amend RSA 427:5, I to read as follows:

I. The provisions of RSA 427:4 shall apply to all carcasses or parts of carcasses of livestock or the meat or meat products thereof, capable of use as human food, which may be brought into any slaughtering establishment, where inspection under this subdivision is maintained. The provisions of RSA 427:4 may be voluntarily applied to those species that are capable of use as human food though not included in the definition of livestock in this subdivision. An animal owner may elect to adhere to these provisions with the concurrence of the commissioner. Once such animals have entered an inspected establishment, they shall adhere to the same standards and requirements as all livestock in the establishment, excepting equines.

8 Certified Meat Inspectors; Equines Excepted. Amend RSA 427:8, I to read as follows:

I. Certified meat inspectors shall inspect all slaughtering establishments in which livestock, excepting equines, are slaughtered and the meat and meat food products thereof are prepared solely for commerce as may be necessary to inform the inspector concerning the sanitary conditions of them.

9 Times of Inspection; Equines Excepted. Amend RSA 427:9 to read as follows:

427:9 Times of Examination and Inspection. A certified meat inspector shall be present in all establishments at any time during which livestock, excepting equines, are slaughtered for the purposes of commerce, except exempted slaughter of certain poultry under RSA 427:16.

10 Commercial Control; Equines Excepted. Amend the introductory paragraph RSA 427:10 to read as follows:

427:10 Commercial Control. No person, firm, or corporation shall, with respect to livestock, excepting equines or any carcasses, parts of carcasses, meat or meat food products of any such animals:

11 New Paragraph; Prohibition on Slaughter of Equines for Food Products. Amend RSA 427:10 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:

V. No person, firm, or corporation shall cause equines as defined in RSA 436:93, III to be slaughtered or prepared at an establishment for the purpose of preparing meat food products. No meat inspector or certified meat inspector under this subdivision shall inspect and approve any equine for slaughter or preparation as meat food products.

12 Records; Equines Excepted. Amend RSA 427:19, I-II to read as follows:

I. The following records shall be made available for review by an authorized designee of the commissioner:

(a) The numbers and kinds of livestock, excepting equines, slaughtered[;].

(b) Quantities and types of products prepared[;].

(c) Names and addresses of the owners of the livestock, excepting equines[;].

(d) Bills of sale, invoices, bills of lading, receiving and shipping papers which all include the following: description of livestock or article, excepting equines, net weight of livestock or article, excepting equines, name and address of buyer and seller of livestock or article, excepting equines, name, and address of consigner or recipient if other than the buyer, method of shipment, date of shipment, name and address of carrier[;].

(e) Shipper’s certificates required by other statutes and rules[;].

(f) Record of seal numbers of inedible products[;].

II. The following classes of persons, firms, and corporations shall permit access to the records upon presentation of official credentials during ordinary business hours:

(a) Any persons, firms, or corporations that engage, for commerce in the business of slaughtering and livestock, excepting equines, or preparing, freezing, packaging, or labeling any carcasses, or parts or products of carcasses, of any such animals.

(b) Any persons, firms, or corporations, that engage in the business of buying or selling as meat brokers, wholesalers, or otherwise, or transporting, in commerce or storing in or for such commerce, any carcasses, or parts or products of carcasses, of any such animals.

(c) Any persons, firms, or corporations that engage in business, in or for commerce as renderers, or engage in the business of buying, selling, or transporting, in such commerce, any dead, dying, disabled, or diseased livestock, excepting equines, or parts of the carcasses of any such animals that died otherwise than by slaughter.

13 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.