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Vilsack sees proposed horsemeat plant opening ‘soon’: report
Story Date: 5/2/2013
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Source: MEATINGPLACE, 5/1/13
Barring Congressional action, a proposed horsemeat processing plant is likely to open “relatively soon,” according to an interview with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack this week that appeared in The New York Times.
Valley Meat Co. filed a lawsuit against the USDA last year over a delay in winning regulatory approval to open the plant and alleged inactivity by the USDA in processing its application. It’s been six years since Congress pulled the plug on funding federal inspections of plants that process horsemeat, a move that was reversed in 2011, prompting New Mexico-based Valley Meat to launch plans to open such facilities.
Vilsack told the newspaper that the plant will open unless Congress restores the ban on horse slaughter, which could happen based on the Obama administration’s most recent budget proposal that cuts federal financing for inspections of horse slaughterhouses.
The agency, however, reportedly is still working to ensure the process for opening the Valley Meat plant is being handled properly, including an inspection that took place last week.
For more stories, go to http://www.meatingplace.com/.
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