Which act established federal meat inspection and grants FSIS authority to inspect meat across interstate commerce?

• A. Agricultural Marketing Act (1946)
• B. Federal Meat Inspection Act (1906)
• C. Poultry Products Inspection Act (1957)
• D. Egg Products Inspection Act (1970)

Answer: (B)

The fundamental idea is that federal meat inspection and the authority to inspect meat across interstate commerce come from the Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906. This law created mandatory federal inspection of meat sold between states and gave the agricultural agency the power to oversee slaughterhouses and processing plants, ensure sanitary conditions, and prevent adulterated or misbranded meat from entering commerce. It established the nationwide framework that the agency, now the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) within USDA, uses to enforce meat safety standards.

Context helps make sense of it: public concern over meat safety in the early 20th century led to federal oversight of food products, paired with the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. Over time, this system expanded with related laws, but the 1906 act is the one that first set federal inspection of meat and the interstate commerce jurisdiction.

The other acts address different products or aspects of marketing. The Poultry Products Inspection Act deals with poultry products, the Egg Products Inspection Act with egg products, and the Agricultural Marketing Act focuses on marketing and marketing orders rather than establishing federal meat-inspection authority.