EXEMPTION AND STUDY OF CERTAIN FOOD PRODUCTS.

SEC. 1016. EXEMPTION AND STUDY OF CERTAIN FOOD PRODUCTS. (a) Amendments to Federal Meat Inspection Act.— Section 23 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 623) is amended— (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and 105 STAT. 1903 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new subsection: “(c) (1) Under such terms and conditions as the Secretary shall prescribe through rules and regulations issued under section 24 that may be necessary to ensure food safety and protect public health such as special handling procedures, the Secretary shall exempt pizzas containing a meat food product from the inspection requirements of this Act if— “(A) the meat food product components of the pizzas have been prepared, inspected, and passed in a cured or cooked form as ready-to-eat in compliance with the requirements of this Act; and “(B) the pizzas are to be served in public or private nonprofit institutions. “(2) The Secretary may withdraw or modify any exemption under this subsection whenever the Secretary determines such action is necessary to ensure food safety and to protect public health. The Secretary may reinstate or further modify any exemption withdrawn or modified under this subsection.”. (b) Amendments to Poultry Products Inspection Act.— Section 15 of the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 464) is amended— (1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (e) and (f), respectively; (2) in subsection (e) (as so redesignated), by striking “(c)” and inserting “(d)”; and (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new subsection: “(d) (1) Under such terms and conditions as the Secretary shall prescribe through rules and regulations issued under this section that may be necessary to ensure food safety and protect public health such as special handling procedures, the Secretary shall exempt pizzas containing a poultry product from the inspection requirements of this Act if— “(A) the poultry product components of the pizzas have been prepared, inspected, and passed in a cured or cooked form as ready-to-eat in compliance with the requirements of this Act; and “(B) the pizzas are to be served in public or private nonprofit institutions. “(2) The Secretary may withdraw or modify any exemption under this subsection whenever the Secretary determines such action is necessary to ensure food safety and to protect public health. The Secretary may reinstate or further modify any exemption withdrawn or modified under this subsection.”. (c) Regulations.— No later than August 1, 1992, the Secretary of Agriculture shall issue final rules, through prior notice and comment rulemaking procedures, to implement the exemption authorized by section 23(c) of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (as added by subsection (a)) and the exemption authorized by section 15(d) of the Poultry Products Inspection Act (as added by subsection (b)). Prior to the issuance of the final rules, the Secretary shall hold at least one public hearing examining the public health and food safety issues raised by the granting of each of the exemptions. (d) Studies.— 105 STAT. 1904 (1) In general.— Not later than 24 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the National Academy of Sciences, shall conduct— (A) a study to develop criteria for, and evaluate, present and future inspection exemptions for meat food products and poultry products under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) and the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.), respectively, which shall examine the potential effect on consumers, on the affected industries, on public health and food safety, on the role of the Department of Agriculture, and the scientific basis for the exemptions; and (B) a study of the appropriateness of granting an exemption from the requirements of the Federal Meat Inspection Act or the Poultry Products Inspection Act, as appropriate, for wholesale meat outlets selling to hotels, restaurants, or other similar institutional users provided that the processing of meat by the outlets is limited to cutting, slicing, grinding, or repackaging into smaller quantities. (2) Results.— On completion of each study required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall provide the results of the study to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate.