DES MOINES, IOWA — Legislation aimed at increasing processing opportunities for small-scale Iowa poultry processors and producers is now eligible for full consideration by the House Agriculture Committee. The legislation passed unanimously by a House subcommittee on Jan. 25.

The bill would allow state poultry processing establishments to perform both official inspected and custom-exempt processing at the same facility when the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s Meat and Poultry Inspection Bureau permits it.

The Iowa department performs meat and poultry inspection through a cooperative agreement with the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

With the new legislation, poultry processing would be treated with the same standards already in place for red meat processing plants, noted a press release from Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig’s office.

Under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, red meat establishments are allowed to perform both official and custom processing through a provision commonly referred to as the Curtis Amendment. The Poultry Products Inspection Act does not include such a provision.

“Poultry processing has its own unique set of challenges, including workforce availability, but government should not stand in the way of allowing these businesses to expand their processing capabilities, especially when there are no food safety concerns with the proposed changes,” Naig said.

In addition to proposing state legislation, Naig intends to formally petition FSIS, encouraging the agency to reassess its interpretation of the law and grant states the flexibility to allow for additional poultry processing capacity.