By-laws

Organizational Statement of the Beef Industry Food Safety Council

1. Mission   
The Council’s mission is to promote understanding and solution of beef safety concerns through the lawful collaboration of beef industry participants.
 
2. Constituents   
The Council consists of Members, an Advisory Board and an Administrator.
 
3. Members
 
        a. Composition    
           Members are beef industry participants who have paid the current Membership Fee.
  
        b. Function    
           The function of Members is to advance the Council’s Mission through exchange of
            information on beef safety, attendance of the Annual Safety Summit and active 
            participation in a Council Standing Working Group for one of the following industry
            sectors: Production; Harvest/Fabrication; Processing; Retail; and Food Service.
 
4. Advisory Board
 
        a. Composition     
            The Advisory Board consists of
 
                    i. the Council Chair
  
                   ii. one representative from each of two Qualified State Beef Councils appointed by
                       the Qualified State Beef Councils’ Advisory Committee
  
                  iii. one representative from each of the following organizations appointed by each:
                      American Meat Institute, North American Meat Processors, National Meat
                      Association, National Restaurant Association, Food Marketing Institute, U.S.
                      Meat Export Federation, Southwest Meat Association, National Renderers
                      Association, International HACCP Alliance, National Grain and Feed
                      Association, American Feed Industry Association, American Meat 
                      Science Association.
 
                  iv. two members from each of the Standing Working Groups appointed by each
                      one representative from the USDA Agriculture Research Service
 
                   v. up to four additional representatives at large appointed by the Council Chair
                       (with no voting rights)
 
                  vi. the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Industry Beef Safety Committee
 
        b. Function    
            The functions of the Advisory Board are to:
 
                    i. oversee the Council’s affairs
  
                   ii. organize and conduct the Annual Safety Summit
  
                  iii. assign Members to the Standing Working Groups
  
                  iv. appoint the chairs of the Standing Working Groups
  
                  v. establish an annual budget for the Council’s affairs and set the Annual Safety
                      Summit Participation Fee at a level sufficient to fund the Council’s activities
 
5. Administrator
  
        a. Composition    
            The Administrator is the Beef Safety Research Division of the National Cattlemen’s
             Beef Association.
  
        b. Function    
            The Administrator, under the direction of the Council Chair, staffs the Council’s
            activities.
 
6. Antitrust Compliance    
    The Council is committed to compliance with all requirements of the antitrust laws and to this
     end acknowledges:
  
        a. the antitrust laws forbid certain arrangements among competitors including agreements 
            to fix prices, allocate customers or markets or boycott particular suppliers.
 
        b. each industry participant must act independently in deciding what price to charge for its
            products, and to whom and under what terms and conditions it will do so.
 
        c. the antitrust laws forbid an assembly like the Council from acting as a facilitator
            of  prohibited relationships.
 
        d. as a matter of prudence, the Council will redirect discussions or exchanges
            of information if they inadvertently enter a forbidden area.