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Title VII — Miscellaneous

S. 679 · 113th Congress · Apr 9, 2013 · Lineage

VII Miscellaneous

Sec. 701 Technical assistance

(a)
Meat products—
(1)
In general— Title V of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 683 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new sections:

“502. Technical assistance

“(a) Establishment—The Secretary shall establish in the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture a technical assistance division to coordinate the initiatives of any other appropriate agency of the Department of Agriculture to provide, with respect to compliance with this Act—

“(1) outreach, education, and training to very small or certain small establishments; and

“(2) grants to appropriate State agencies, educational institutions, or non-governmental organizations, or networks or partnerships of such agencies, such institutions, or such organizations, to provide outreach, technical assistance, education, and training to very small or certain small establishments.

“(b) Personnel—The technical assistance division shall be comprised of individuals that, as determined by the Secretary—

“(1) are of a quantity sufficient to carry out the duties of the technical assistance division; and

“(2) possess appropriate qualifications and expertise relating to the duties of the technical assistance division.

“(c) Certain small establishment defined—In this section, the term certain small establishment means an establishment that meets the requirements for establishments described in section 332.3 of title 9, Code of Federal Regulations (issued pursuant to section 501), as in effect on the date of the enactment of the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013.”

(2)
Transfer of division— Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transfer the functions, personnel, and assets of the technical division established under section 501(f) of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 683 et seq.) (as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act) to the technical division required to be established under section 502 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act, as added by paragraph (1).
(3)
Conforming amendments— Section 501 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 683 et seq.) is amended—
(A)
in subsection (b)(3)(B)(ii), by striking “subsection (j)” and inserting “subsection (i)”;
(B)
in subsection (e)(i), by striking “subsection (j)” and inserting “subsection (i)”;
(C)
by striking subsection (f); and
(D)
by redesignating subsections (g) through (j) as subsections (f) through (i), respectively.
(b)
Poultry products— The Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

“32. Technical assistance

“(a) In general—The technical assistance division of the Food Safety and Inspection Service established under section 502 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act shall coordinate the initiatives of any other appropriate agency of the Department of Agriculture to provide, with respect to compliance with this Act—

“(1) outreach, education, and training to very small or certain small establishments; and

“(2) grants to appropriate State agencies, educational institutions, or non-governmental organizations, or networks or partnerships of such agencies, such institutions, or such organizations, to provide outreach, technical assistance, education, and training to very small or certain small establishments.

“(b) Certain small establishment defined—In this section, the term certain small establishment means an establishment that meets the requirements for establishments described in section 381.513 of title 9, Code of Federal Regulations (issued pursuant to section 31), as in effect on the date of the enactment of the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013.”

Sec. 702 Guidance

(a)
Meat products— Title V of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 683 et seq.), as amended by section 701, is further amended by adding at the end the following new section:

“503. Guidance

“(a) Issuance—The Secretary, acting through the Food Safety and Inspection Service, shall issue guidance to very small or certain small establishments (as defined in section 502(c)) on how to comply with the requirements of this Act.

“(b) Contents—The guidance issued under subsection (a) shall be appropriate for—

“(1) slaughter and processing facilities that are subject to Federal or State inspection under this Act, or provide custom slaughter or processing; and

“(2) mobile slaughter and processing facilities.”

(b)
Poultry products— The Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.), as amended by section 701, is further amended by adding at the end the following new section:

“33. Guidance

“(a) Issuance—The Secretary, acting through the Food Safety and Inspection Service, shall issue guidance to very small or certain small establishments (as defined in section 32(b)) on how to comply with the requirements of this Act.

“(b) Contents—The guidance issued under subsection (a) shall be appropriate for—

“(1) slaughter and processing facilities that are subject to Federal or State inspection under this Act, or provide custom slaughter or processing;

“(2) on-farm slaughter and processing of poultry that is exempt under section 15(c)(1); and

“(3) mobile slaughter and processing facilities.”

(c)
Initial guidance— Not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue guidance under section 503(a) of the Federal Meat Inspection Act, as added by subsection (a), and section 33 of the Poultry Products Inspection Act, as added by subsection (b).

Sec. 703 Labels and public information on label content

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

“26. Labels and public information on label content

“The Secretary shall establish a guidebook and website to provide improved public access to user-friendly information on meat product label content and format and the approval process for meat product labels.”

(b)
Poultry products— The Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.), as amended by section 702 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following new section:

“34. Labels and public information on label content

“The Secretary shall establish a guidebook and website to provide improved public access to user-friendly information on poultry product label content and format and the approval process for poultry product labels.”

(c)
Applicability date— Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish the guidebook and website required under section 26 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act, as added by subsection (a), and section 34 of the Poultry Products Inspection Act, as added by subsection (b).

Sec. 704 Meat and poultry processing report

(a)
Report— Not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to Congress a report on steps that can be taken to assist very small or certain small establishments to ensure that such establishments produce meat and poultry products that meet the requirements under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) and the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.).
(b)
Stakeholder group—
(1)
In general— Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall convene a group of stakeholders to advise the Secretary on—
(A)
proposed guidance on facilities requirements, process controls and pathogen prevention in very small or certain small establishments;
(B)
improving the user-friendliness of information contained in meat and poultry labels; and
(C)
the report required under paragraph (a).
(2)
Membership— The stakeholders group convened under paragraph (1) shall include persons with expertise on problems that very small or certain small establishments that are processing facilities, including mobile processing facilities, may have in meeting the requirements of the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act, including—
(A)
small scale livestock and poultry growers;
(B)
operators of small scale slaughtering and processing facilities;
(C)
representatives of farming organizations whose membership includes small scale livestock and poultry producers;
(D)
representatives of established consumer organizations;
(E)
Federal and industry employees, including a representative of employees of the Food Safety and Inspection Service that are represented by a labor organization (as defined in section 7103(a)(4) of title 5, United States Code) and a representative of employees of the industries regulated by the Food Safety and Inspection Service that are represented by a labor organization (as defined in section 2(5) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 152(5))); and
(F)
representatives from appropriate Federal and State agencies, educational institutions, other non-governmental organizations, or networks or partnerships of such agencies, such institutions, and such organizations.
(3)
Termination— The Secretary shall terminate the stakeholder group upon completion of the guidance and the report referred to in paragraph (1).
(c)
Certain small establishment defined— In this section, the term certain small establishment means—
(1)
with respect to an establishment that is subject to the requirements of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), a certain small establishment as defined in section 502(c) of such Act; or
(2)
with respect to an establishment that is subject to the requirements of the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.), a certain small establishment as defined in section 32(b) of such Act.