After the recall of 21.7 million pounds of meat from Topps Meat Company potentially contaminated with E. coli, much debate has been raised about the language of the 2007 Farm Bill regarding state meat inspection policy.

America's meat plants are either inspected by the federal government or by the state in which they are located, said Scott Kuschmider, professional staffer for House Committee on Agriculture.

Current meat inspection policy states that meat can only be sold in the state in which it is produced, Kuschmider said.

Kuschmider said he works closely with Congressman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee and supporter of the new provision.

In a statement by Peterson released by Kuschmider, Peterson said he specifically included the new requirement to address concerns about food safety.

"The provision will allow growth and expansion opportunities for small businesses without compromising the safety of these products," Peterson said in the statement.

Kuschmider said he wanted to clarify that the new language would not change the current levels of federal inspections.

The 2007 draft of the Farm Bill would require state inspection for meat and poultry products to be identical to federal inspection standards, he said.

This provision would allow state meat packing plants to sell across state lines, he said.

Kuschmider said many small meat producers already measure up to federal inspection standards but are unable to sell across state lines because they do not have access to federal inspections.

"There are not enough federal inspectors to go around," he said.

In light of the Topps meat recall, the Consumer Federation of America has taken a stance against the new additions to the Farm Bill, said Chris Waldrop, director of the Food Policy Institute at the CFA.

Waldrop said because Topps was a federally inspected plant the United States Department of Agriculture had the resources and ability to follow up with the plant and with consumers to issue an effective recall.

But the USDA waited 18 days after receiving reports of E. coli contamination to issue a recall, according to a Washington Post report.

"We've never said the USDA is perfect," Waldrop said. "We certainly think they should have acted more quickly."

But Waldrop said he was concerned in the event that meat from a state-inspected plant was contaminated.

"A state plant probably wouldn't have the ability to the extent the USDA had (to carry out a recall)," Waldrop said.

Not every state has the same inspection standards, Waldrop said. He said Congress wanted to establish a uniform federal system that would set a universal standard. But as a compromise, the federal government had to allow some states to continue operating, he said.

Waldrop said the new language of the Farm Bill would weaken the uniform system.

The USDA verified in a January 2007 report that all states either met or exceeded federal meat inspection requirements, said Charlie Ingram, director of legislative and regulatory affairs for the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture.

Ingram added that in the event of contaminated meat, state-inspected plants have the tools to carry out a recall.

Ingram said the USDA works with individual states in the event of a recall. Local personnel most often remove contaminated meat from store shelves and conduct inspections, he said.

"States are fully capable to handle those situations," Ingram said.

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection has come out in favor of the new language because it offers benefits for local meat packers, said Donna Gilson, spokeswoman for the Wisconsin DATCP.

Wisconsin and 26 other states have their own meat inspection programs, Gilson said. Wisconsin has 300 state-inspected plants, the largest number of state-inspected plants in the nation, she said.

The state-inspected plants are often small and locally owned, she said.

Gilson said the current provisions of the Farm Bill significantly cut down on local meat packers' markets.

Gilson said it is only state-inspected meat that cannot be sold across state lines. Wine, beer and dairy products can all be sold state to state, she said.

"It's a basic fairness issue," Gilson said. "The federal government doesn't want to do inspections on every plant, so why is our work not good enough?"

When asked about the E. coli scare at Topps Meat Company, Gilson gave one comment: "Federally inspected plant."