Georgia meat processors enter interstate shipment program

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the State of Georgia finalized a Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) agreement that enables participating state-inspected meat processors to ship their products across state lines.

“This announcement expands market opportunity for Georgia’s processors while ensuring that rigorous food safety standards are in place,” said Mindy Brashears, undersecretary for food safety. “Georgia’s participation in the CIS program will support the local and regional economy.”

The CIS program is only available for states with an established State Meat and Poultry Inspection (MPI) program.

To be eligible for the CIS program, states under the MPI program must demonstrate their inspection to participating establishments meets the same standards as inspection provided by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) at official federal establishments.

Some of those standards include administering and enforcing requirements in line with the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act and other applicable regulations. The state must collect regulatory samples at the same frequency as FSIS and use the same analytical methods at laboratories meeting equal level of accreditation as FSIS laboratories.

FSIS provides ongoing oversight of the CIS program and reimburses states for 60% of the costs associated with providing this inspection service.

With the addition of Georgia, 11 states now participate in the CIS program, including Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin.