I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2273

To amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to order the recall 

of meat and poultry that is adulterated, misbranded, or otherwise unsafe. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 22, 2003

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico (for himself, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. 

BLUMENAUER, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, and Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Agriculture 

A BILL

To amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry 

Products Inspection Act to authorize the Secretary of 

Agriculture to order the recall of meat and poultry that 

is adulterated, misbranded, or otherwise unsafe.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Unsafe Meat and Poul5 try Recall Act’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. RECALL AUTHORITY OVER MEAT AND MEAT FOOD 

2 PRODUCTS. 

3 (a) MANDATORY RECALLS AUTHORIZED.—The Fed4 eral Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is 

5 amended—

6 (1) by redesignating section 411 (21 U.S.C. 

7 681) as section 412; and 

8 (2) by inserting after section 410 (21 U.S.C. 

9 679a) the following new section: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 411. NOTIFICATION, NONDISTRIBUTION, AND RECALL 

11 OF ADULTERATED, MISBRANDED, AND 

12 OTHER UNSAFE MEAT PRODUCTS. 

13 ‘‘(a) MEAT PRODUCT DEFINED.—In this section, the 

14 term ‘meat product’ means a carcass, part of a carcass, 

15 meat, or meat food product of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, 

16 horses, mules, or other equines covered by this Act. 

17 ‘‘(b) NOTIFICATION REQUIRED.—

18 ‘‘(1) NOTICE TO SECRETARY.—A person that 

19 has reason to believe that a meat product trans20 ported, stored, distributed, or otherwise handled by 

21 the person is adulterated, misbranded, or otherwise 

22 in violation of this Act shall immediately notify the 

23 Secretary, in such manner and by such means as the 

24 Secretary may by regulation promulgate, of the iden25 tity and location of the meat product.
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1 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—The requirement to notify 

2 the Secretary under paragraph (1) does not extend 

3 to household consumers of meat products and to 

4 such other persons as the Secretary may exempt. 

5 ‘‘(c) VOLUNTARY NONDISTRIBUTION AND RECALL.—

6 If the Secretary finds that a meat product is adulterated, 

7 misbranded, or otherwise in violation of this Act and that 

8 there is a reasonable probability that human consumption 

9 of the meat product may present a threat to public health, 

10 the Secretary shall provide all appropriate persons, as de11 termined by the Secretary, that transported, stored, dis12 tributed, or otherwise handled the meat product with an 

13 opportunity to—

14 ‘‘(1) cease distribution of the meat product; 

15 ‘‘(2) notify all persons transporting, storing, 

16 distributing, or otherwise handling the meat product, 

17 or to which the meat product has been transported, 

18 sold, distributed, or otherwise handled, to imme19 diately cease distribution of the meat product; 

20 ‘‘(3) recall the meat product; and 

21 ‘‘(4) in consultation with the Secretary, provide 

22 notice to consumers to whom the meat product is, 

23 or may have been, distributed. 

24 ‘‘(d) MANDATORY ACTIONS.—If a person refuses to 

25 or does not voluntarily take the actions described in sub-
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1 section (c) with respect to a meat product within the time 

2 and in the manner prescribed by the Secretary, the Sec3 retary may, by order, require the person to immediately—

4 ‘‘(1) cease distribution of the meat product; 

5 ‘‘(2) notify all persons transporting, storing, 

6 distributing, or otherwise handling the meat product, 

7 or to which the meat product has been transported, 

8 sold, distributed, or otherwise handled, to imme9 diately cease distribution of the meat product; and 

10 ‘‘(3) recall the meat product or take other ap11 propriate action. 

12 ‘‘(e) NOTICE TO CONSUMERS.—Whenever the Sec13 retary orders a mandatory action under subsection (d), the 

14 Secretary shall also provide notice to consumers to whom 

15 the meat product was, or may have been, distributed, to 

16 the extent the Secretary considers necessary. 

17 ‘‘(f) NONDISTRIBUTION BY NOTIFIED PERSONS.—A 

18 person transporting, storing, distributing, or otherwise 

19 handling a meat product, or to which a meat product has 

20 been transported, sold, distributed, or otherwise handled, 

21 that receives notification under subsection (c) or (d) shall 

22 immediately cease distribution of the meat product. 

23 ‘‘(g) VACATION OF ORDER.—If, after providing an 

24 opportunity for a hearing on the record, the Secretary de25 termines that adequate grounds do not exist to continue
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1 the mandatory actions required by an order issued under 

2 subsection (d), the Secretary shall vacate the order. 

3 ‘‘(h) ADDITIONAL REMEDIES.—The remedies pro4 vided in this section are in addition to any other remedies 

5 that may be available.’’. 

6 (b) DEFINITION OF PERSON.—(1) Section 1 of the 

7 Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601) is amended 

8 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(w) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ means any indi10 vidual, partnership, corporation, association, or other busi11 ness unit.’’. 

12 (2) The Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 

13 et seq.) is amended—

14 (A) by striking ‘‘person, firm, or corporation’’ 

15 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘person’’; 

16 (B) by striking ‘‘persons, firms, and corpora17 tions’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘per18 sons’’; and 

19 (C) by striking ‘‘persons, firms, or corpora20 tions’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘per21 sons’’.
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1 SEC. 3. RECALL AUTHORITY OVER POULTRY AND POULTRY 

2 FOOD PRODUCTS. 

3 (a) MANDATORY RECALLS AUTHORIZED.—The Poul4 try Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.) is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 31. NOTIFICATION, NONDISTRIBUTION, AND RECALL 

7 OF ADULTERATED, MISBRANDED, AND 

8 OTHER UNSAFE POULTRY PRODUCTS. 

9 ‘‘(a) NOTIFICATION REQUIRED.—

10 ‘‘(1) NOTICE TO SECRETARY.—A person that 

11 has reason to believe that a poultry product trans12 ported, stored, distributed, or otherwise handled by 

13 the person is adulterated, misbranded, or otherwise 

14 in violation of this Act shall immediately notify the 

15 Secretary, in such manner and by such means as the 

16 Secretary may by regulation promulgate, of the iden17 tity and location of the poultry product. 

18 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—The requirement to notify 

19 the Secretary under paragraph (1) does not extend 

20 to household consumers of poultry products and to 

21 such other persons as the Secretary may exempt. 

22 ‘‘(b) VOLUNTARY NONDISTRIBUTION AND RECALL.—

23 If the Secretary finds that a poultry product is adulter24 ated, misbranded, or otherwise in violation of this Act and 

25 that there is a reasonable probability that human con26 sumption of the poultry product may present a threat to 
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1 public health, the Secretary shall provide all appropriate 

2 persons, as determined by the Secretary, that transported, 

3 stored, distributed, or otherwise handled the poultry prod4 uct with an opportunity to—

5 ‘‘(1) cease distribution of the poultry product; 

6 ‘‘(2) notify all persons transporting, storing, 

7 distributing, or otherwise handling the poultry prod8 uct, or to which the poultry product has been trans9 ported, sold, distributed, or otherwise handled, to 

10 immediately cease distribution of the poultry prod11 uct; 

12 ‘‘(3) recall the poultry product; and 

13 ‘‘(4) in consultation with the Secretary, provide 

14 notice to consumers to whom the poultry product is, 

15 or may have been, distributed. 

16 ‘‘(c) MANDATORY ACTIONS.—If a person refuses to 

17 or does not voluntarily take the actions described in sub18 section (b) with respect to a poultry product within the 

19 time and in the manner prescribed by the Secretary, the 

20 Secretary may, by order, require the person to imme21 diately—

22 ‘‘(1) cease distribution of the poultry product; 

23 ‘‘(2) notify all persons transporting, storing, 

24 distributing, or otherwise handling the poultry prod25 uct, or to which the poultry product has been trans-
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1 ported, sold, distributed, or otherwise handled, to 

2 immediately cease distribution of the poultry prod3 uct; and 

4 ‘‘(3) recall the poultry product or take other ap5 propriate action. 

6 ‘‘(d) NOTICE TO CONSUMERS.—Whenever the Sec7 retary orders a mandatory action under subsection (c), the 

8 Secretary shall also provide notice to consumers to whom 

9 the poultry product was, or may have been, distributed, 

10 to the extent the Secretary considers necessary. 

11 ‘‘(e) NONDISTRIBUTION BY NOTIFIED PERSONS.—A 

12 person transporting, storing, distributing, or otherwise 

13 handling a poultry product, or to which a poultry product 

14 has been transported, sold, distributed, or otherwise han15 dled, that receives notification under subsection (b) or (c) 

16 shall immediately cease distribution of the poultry prod17 uct. 

18 ‘‘(f) VACATION OF ORDER.—If, after providing an 

19 opportunity for a hearing on the record, the Secretary de20 termines that adequate grounds do not exist to continue 

21 the mandatory actions required by an order issued under 

22 subsection (c), the Secretary shall vacate the order. 
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1 ‘‘(g) ADDITIONAL REMEDIES.—The remedies pro2 vided in this section are in addition to any other remedies 

3 that may be available.’’.

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