Providing a personal use exemption from licensing requirements of the Meat and Poultry Inspection Act

BACKGROUND. This bill amends the “Meat and Poultry Inspection Act” (Iowa Act), which is administered and enforced by the department of agriculture and land stewardship (DALS) and which regulates a business engaged in the slaughter of livestock or poultry, the processing of the livestock or poultry, and the preparation of meat products or poultry products derived from those slaughtered animals. The meat or poultry product is generically referred to as an “article”. chapter 10).3(3)). BILL’S PROVISIONS. The bill creates a personal use exception to the licensing provisions in the Iowa Act for livestock and poultry based on two such exemptions in the federal Acts regarding the inspections. An existing provision authorizes DALS to adopt rules providing a personal use exemption to inspection requirements. Under the federal Meat Inspection Act, the owner raising livestock must slaughter and process the livestock; the prepared articles derived from the processed livestock must be fit for human consumption; the articles must be prepared, packaged, or held under sanitary conditions; and the articles must be for the personal use of the owner raising the livestock, a member of the owner’s household, or a nonpaying guest or employee. Under the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act, similar requirements apply. The owner or producer of poultry must slaughter and process the poultry; the poultry must be healthy when slaughtered and processed; the poultry must be slaughtered and processed under sanitary conditions; the poultry product derived from the slaughtered poultry must be for their private use, or the private use of a member of their household or a nonpaying guest or employee; the poultry product cannot be sold or donated; and any shipping containing an article must include information about the producer.