PRAIRIE DU SAC, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says the first state-inspected meat processor has started shipping meat across state lines under a federal-state deal announced two years ago.
Meatpacking companies usually can't ship across state lines unless their products are inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But Wisconsin is one of three states to sign a deal with the federal government under USDA rules finalized in 2011. That pact makes interstate sales of state-inspected meat acceptable.
Walker said in a statement Monday that Prairie du Sac-based Wyttenbach Meats, LLC, had become the first Wisconsin company to start shipping products to other states under the agreement.
Wisconsin has 272 state-inspected meat plants, and the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection says many others are interested in the program.