Sausage-makers seek business link

Ran Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Sausage-makers seek business link
Law requiring federal inspections for out-of-state sales deemed unfair

By Leader-Telegram staff and The Associated Press

There's a saying that you don't want to see how sausage is made, but many Wisconsin sausage makers don't care for the way it's sold, or more accurately how it's not sold.
They say an arcane federal law that prohibits them from selling their state-inspected meats outside of Wisconsin hinders their livelihood.
Federal law prohibits state-inspected meat from being sold across state lines, even though meat handled by state inspectors is required to meet or exceed standards for federally inspected plants.
Jon Seipel, manager and owner of Gunderson Food Service in Mondovi, doesn't see why his meats are good enough for people five hours away in Racine or Superior, but not for people much closer in Wabasha, Minn.
"There's no difference in people in Minnesota than in Wisconsin," Seipel said, adding the meats are transported on a federally inspected truck.
Processors can choose whether to be state or federally inspected. There are 299 state-inspected meat processors in Wisconsin, one of 28 states with its own program. Federal officials inspect 164 processors in Wisconsin, officials said.
Seipel said federal requirements would require him to add on to his building, make an extra office for the inspector and install showers. He estimated the accommodations would cost as much as $300,000.
"Gotta sell a lot of wieners to make up for that," he said.
The federal restriction particularly concerns state-inspected meat processors near Wisconsin's borders. Rick Reams, owner of RJ's Fresh Meats in Hudson, said he had to turn away an order for 8,000 pounds of breakfast sausages for the Minnesota State Fair because of the provision, even though the fair is only 20 miles away.
Amanda Eamich, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service, said nothing prevents any Wisconsin meat processor from getting meat federally inspected rather than state inspected.
U.S. Rep. Ron Kind and Sen. Herb Kohl, both Wisconsin democrats, have introduced legislation in their respective houses to end the ban, as have several lawmakers from other states. Although similar attempts at legislation have failed, Kind said he was optimistic the provisions might be folded into the pending federal farm bill.
Mark Dopp, senior vice president and general counsel of American Meat Institute, which represents meat processing companies, said the companies oppose lifting the ban. He questions whether state-inspected meat meets every federal requirement.
But Sheboygan Falls-based Johnsonville Sausage, which distributes its products throughout the nation and to 40 other countries, takes a different view.
"As long as the requirements are the same across the board, we don't have a problem with it," said company spokesman Kevin Ladwig.