Washington, D.C. Two new meat and poultry inspection user fees are included
in USDA’s proposed Fiscal Year 2011 budget, unveiled publicly today. These fees
would charge companies for services ordinarily funded by the federal government.
Language in the proposed budget says, [i]n addition, legislation will be
submitted for two user fees. The first is a performance-based user fee, which
will be charged to plants that have sample failures or require additional
inspection activities due to a pattern of regulatory non-compliance. The second
one is a flat fee for facility applications and annual renewal activities in
order to cover the increased costs above those basic inspection services
provided to meat, poultry or processed egg products establishments. The amount
of this fee would be based on a plant’s size.
According to AMI, section 695 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) notes
that the cost of inspection rendered on and after July 1, 1948, under the
requirements of laws relating to Federal inspection of meat and meat food
products shall be borne by the United States except the cost of overtime
pursuant to section 394 of title 7.
User fees for meat and poultry inspection have been consistently and properly
rejected by the U.S. Congress, said American Meat Institute President and CEO
J. Patrick Boyle. Likening these proposed fees to a food tax, Boyle said that
many meat and poultry companies will be forced to pass on the increased costs to
consumers, who are struggling to make ends meet in very tough economy and
challenging job market. Consumers have already been taxed once for the
operating budget of USDA and the food safety responsibilities of the federal
government, Boyle added.
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