Georgia Joins Cooperative Interstate Shipment Program

Georgia is the latest state to join the Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) program, which qualifies participating state-inspected meat processors to ship their products across state lines. With the addition of Georgia, 11 states now participate in the program, which promotes the expansion of business opportunities for state-inspected meat establishments. Under CIS, participating state-inspected establishments that comply with federal inspection requirements are permitted to ship their products in interstate commerce under the USDA mark of inspection. The CIS program is limited to states that have established a State Meat and Poultry Inspection program. To be eligible, a State MPI program must demonstrate that the inspection it provides to participating state-inspected establishments is the same as the inspection FSIS provides at official federal establishments. The other states that have signed CIS agreements are Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin.