Applicants must pay an annual $50 registration fee in addition to

an annual inspection fee based on the number of horses processed. The Missouri Department of Agriculture must use the inspection fee revenue to pay for inspections of the horse processing facilities by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The act prohibits the defacing, altering, or removal of slaughterer or processor identification labels or inspection stamps affixed by a USDA employee onto any horse carcass or horse meat. The act provides authority to the director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture to affix a detention tag to any horse carcass or horse meat product if he or she has reasonable cause to believe that the carcass or product is misbranded, unbranded, or adulterated in violation of law.

Any facility used for the processing, handling, transporting, or sale of horse meat for human consumption must be operated in a sanitary manner. Any owner of a facility operated in violation of the act or the Federal Meat Inspection Act may have his or her certificate of registration suspended or revoked.

The act gives authority to the Missouri Department of Agriculture to conduct inspections and investigations related to the enforcement of the Federal Meat Inspection Act. Staff of the department shall have reasonable access to premises where the horse processing occurs.

The act lists criteria under which a horse meat food product is considered adulterated. The Missouri Department of Agriculture may destroy any adulterated horse meat food product.

Horse meat may not be mixed with any other type of animal meat if being offered for human consumption, and certain parts of a horse are prohibited from being sold for human consumption. Horse meat that is unlabeled as to type of use or that is labeled as pet or animal food must be specially marked or colored as the act specifies, with certain exceptions. Horse meat intended for pet or animal food must not be stored in the same refrigerated compartment with horse meat intended for human consumption.

The act lists certain recordkeeping requirements for persons who sell a certain amount of horse carcasses or horse meat for human consumption in any one day.

Unless intended for personal consumption, possession of a horse carcass or horse meat food product is prima facie evidence of such commodity for sale.

The Attorney General is given authority to prosecute any violations of the act.

The act creates the Horse Meat and Product Fund, into which the registration and inspection fees are to be deposited.

Any violation of the act is a class A misdemeanor and a second or subsequent violation is a class D felony.

State laws that criminalize or regulate crop production or the welfare of domesticated animals shall only be valid if they are enacted by the General Assembly and if they are based on generally accepted scientific principles and the most current industry standards.

Section 1 of this act is similar to HJR 86 (2010).

ERIKA JAQUES