I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5727 
To amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspec-
tion Act to improve the safety of meat and poultry products by enhancing 
the ability of the Secretary of Agriculture to retrieve the history, use, 
and location of a meat or poultry product through a recordkeeping 
and audit system or registered identification, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 29, 2006 
Ms. DEGETTE 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 improve the safety of meat 
and poultry products by enhancing the ability of the 
Secretary of Agriculture to retrieve the history, use, and 
location of a meat or poultry product through a record-
keeping and audit system or registered identification, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Meat and Poultry 
Products Traceability and Safety Act of 2006’’. 
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SEC. 2. TRACEABILITY OF LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY. 
(a) LIVESTOCK.—Title I of the Federal Meat Inspec-
tion Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 25. TRACEABILITY OF LIVESTOCK, MEAT, AND MEAT 
PRODUCTS. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF TRACEABILITY.—In this sec-
tion, the term ‘traceability’ means the ability to retrieve 
the history, use, and location of an article through a rec-
ordkeeping and audit system or registered identification. 
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Cattle, sheep, swine, goats, 
and horses, mules, and other equines presented for 
slaughter for human food purposes, and the car-
casses or parts of carcasses and the meat and meat 
food products of those animals, shipped in interstate 
commerce shall be identified in a manner that en-
ables the Secretary to trace— 
‘‘(A) each animal to any premises or other 
location at which the animal was held at any 
time before slaughter; and 
‘‘(B) each carcass or part of a carcass and 
meat and meat food product of such animals 
forward from slaughter through processing and 
distribution to the ultimate consumer. 
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‘‘(2) TRACEABILITY
SYSTEM.—The Secretary 
shall establish a traceability system for all stages of 
production, processing, and distribution of meat and 
meat food products that are produced through the 
slaughter of animals described in paragraph (1). 
‘‘(c) PROHIBITION OR RESTRICTION ON ENTRY.— 
The Secretary may prohibit or restrict entry into any 
slaughtering establishment inspected under this Act of any 
cattle, sheep, swine, goats, or horses, mules, or other 
equines not identified as prescribed by the Secretary under 
subsection (b). 
‘‘(d) RECORDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may require 
that each person, firm, and corporation required to 
identify livestock pursuant to subsection (b) main-
tain accurate records, as prescribed by the Sec-
retary, regarding the purchase, sale, and identifica-
tion of the livestock. 
‘‘(2) ACCESS.—Each person, firm, and corpora-
tion described in paragraph (1) shall, at all reason-
able times, on notice by a duly authorized represent-
ative of the Secretary, allow the representative to ac-
cess to each place of business of the person, firm, or 
corporation to examine and copy the records de-
scribed in paragraph (1). 
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‘‘(3) DURATION.—Each person, firm, and cor-
poration described in paragraph (1) shall maintain 
records required to be maintained under this sub-
section for such period of time as the Secretary pre-
scribes. 
‘‘(e) FALSE INFORMATION.—No person, firm, or cor-
poration shall falsify or misrepresent to any other person, 
firm, or corporation, or to the Secretary, any information 
as to any premises at which any cattle, sheep, swine, 
goats, horses, mules, or other equines, or carcasses there-
of, were held. 
‘‘(f) ALTERATION OR DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS.— 
No person, firm, or corporation shall, without authoriza-
tion from the Secretary, alter, detach, or destroy any 
records or other means of identification prescribed by the 
Secretary for use in determining the premises at which 
were held any cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, 
or other equines, or the carcasses thereof. 
‘‘(g) RELATION TO COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABEL-
ING.—Nothing contained in this section prevents or inter-
feres with implementation of the country of origin labeling 
requirements of subtitle D of the Agricultural Marketing 
Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1638 et seq.).’’. 
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(b) POULTRY.—The Poultry Products Inspection Act 
is amended by inserting after section 23 (21 U.S.C. 467e) 
the following: 
‘‘SEC. 23A. TRACEABILITY OF POULTRY AND POULTRY 
PRODUCTS. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF TRACEABILITY.—In this sec-
tion, the term ‘traceability’ means the ability to retrieve 
the history, use, and location of an article through a rec-
ordkeeping and audit system or registered identification. 
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Poultry presented for 
slaughter for human food purposes and poultry 
products shipped in interstate commerce shall be 
identified in a manner that enables the Secretary to 
trace— 
‘‘(A) each animal to any premises or other 
location at which the animal was held at any 
time before slaughter; and 
‘‘(B) each poultry product forward from 
slaughter through processing and distribution 
to the ultimate consumer. 
‘‘(2) TRACEABILITY
SYSTEM.—The Secretary 
shall establish a traceability system for all stages of 
production, processing, and distribution of poultry 
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and poultry food products that are produced through 
the slaughter of animals described in paragraph (1). 
‘‘(c) PROHIBITION OR RESTRICTION ON ENTRY.— 
The Secretary may prohibit or restrict entry into any 
slaughtering establishment inspected under this Act of any 
poultry not identified as prescribed by the Secretary. 
‘‘(d) RECORDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may require 
that each person, firm, and corporation required to 
identify poultry pursuant to subsection (b) maintain 
accurate records, as prescribed by the Secretary, re-
garding the purchase, sale, and identification of the 
poultry. 
‘‘(2) ACCESS.—Each person, firm, and corpora-
tion described in paragraph (1) shall, at all reason-
able times, on notice by a duly authorized represent-
ative of the Secretary, allow the representative to ac-
cess to each place of business of the person, firm, or 
corporation to examine and copy the records de-
scribed in paragraph (1). 
‘‘(3) DURATION.—Each person, firm, and cor-
poration described in paragraph (1) shall maintain 
records required to be maintained under this sub-
section for such period of time as the Secretary pre-
scribes. 
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‘‘(e) FALSE INFORMATION.—No person, firm, or cor-
poration shall falsify or misrepresent to any other person, 
firm, or corporation, or to the Secretary, any information 
as to any premises at which any poultry, or carcasses 
thereof, were held. 
‘‘(f) ALTERATION OR DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS.— 
No person, firm, or corporation shall, without authoriza-
tion from the Secretary, alter, detach, or destroy any 
records or other means of identification prescribed by the 
Secretary for use in determining the premises at which 
were held any poultry or the carcasses thereof. 
‘‘(g) RELATION TO COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABEL-
ING.—Nothing contained in this section prevents or inter-
feres with implementation of the country of origin labeling 
requirements of subtitle D of the Agricultural Marketing 
Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1638 et seq.).’’. 
Æ 
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