§ 332.4 State request for cooperative agreement.

(a) State participation in a cooperative interstate shipment program under this part is limited to States that have implemented cooperative State meat inspection programs. (b) To request an agreement for a cooperative interstate shipment program under this part, a State must submit a written request to the Administrator through the FSIS District Office for the FSIS District in which the State is located. In the request the State must: (1) Identify establishments in the State that have requested to be selected for the program that the State recommends for initial selection into the program, if any; (2) Demonstrate that the State is able to provide the necessary inspection services to selected establishments in the State and conduct any related activities that would be required under a cooperative interstate shipment program established under this part; and (3) Agree that, if the State enters into an agreement with FSIS for a cooperative interstate shipment program, the State will: (i) Provide FSIS with access to the results of all laboratory analyses conducted on product samples from selected establishments in the State; (ii) Notify the selected establishment coordinator for the State of the results of any laboratory analyses that indicate that a product prepared in a selected establishment may be adulterated or may otherwise present a food safety concern; and (iii) When necessary, cooperate with FSIS to transition selected establishments in the State that have been deselected from a cooperative interstate shipment program to become official establishments. (c) If the Administrator determines that a State that has submitted a request to participate in a cooperative interstate shipment program qualifies to enter into a cooperative agreement for such a program, the Administrator and the State will sign a cooperative agreement that sets forth the terms and conditions under which each party will cooperate to provide inspection services to selected establishments located in the State. (d) After the Administrator and a State have signed an agreement for a cooperative interstate shipment program as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, the Administrator will: (1) Appoint an FSIS employee as the FSIS selected establishment coordinator for the State and (2) Coordinate with the State to select establishments to participate in the program as provided in § 332.5(b) of this part.