Despite safety and liability concerns, lawmakers push to deregulate NH meat processing

This story was originally produced by the New Hampshire Bulletin , an independent local newsroom that allows NHPR and other outlets to republish its reporting.

A proposal to deregulate New Hampshire’s meat market could defy federal food safety laws and carry risks for farmers and consumers, lawmakers acknowledge. But members of the House Environment and Agriculture Committee voted to support it anyway, saying those risks are acceptable if the move helps alleviate a statewide slaughterhouse bottleneck taking a toll on smaller farms.

House Bill 396 , as amended, would allow the in-state sale of certain meat, including beef, pork, sheep, and goat, that was slaughtered and processed without the U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection required under federal law. Farmers, it stipulate