ATLANTA – Quail are flying under the regulatory radar, according to a middle-Georgia lawmaker, with the meat of the small bird possibly popping up in stores un-inspected.

Rep. Trey Rhodes, R-Greensboro, wants to keep unchecked meat from landing on Georgians’ plates. He is proposing a requirement that all quail sold to consumers should undergo bird-by-bird inspections, just like other poultry including chicken and turkey.

Right now, Rhodes said quail meat comes from producers all over the world and can end up on the shelf “as is.”

There’s no proof that these products are actually being sold in Georgia. But there is no law that prohibits it, says the state’s veterinarian, Dr. Robert Cobb.

Cobb said quail producers in Spain, for example, send un-inspected quail products into the United States, and current state and federal law “will not stop those products from being sold in Georgia.”

Rhodes’ proposal would change that. His said he wants to protect consumers while aiding the state’s commercial quail growers, including a large operation in his district, Plantation Quail, which processes 15 million birds a year.

It’s a concern that state Agriculture Commissioner, Gary Black, said he is preparing to take to Washington, D.C.

Black said Wednesday that state officials have “serious concerns about whether food safety is being compromised” in the sale of imported quail.

The current system allows overseas competitors to slide in with cheaper meat. Black told lawmakers that those products are sometimes 40 percent cheaper than domestic quail, and are not necessarily inspected.

Domestic producers such as Plantation Quail, he said, are “potentially compromised by imports that do not meet the same standards that are being sold to the public.”

Plantation Quail, which voluntarily pays the state Department of Agriculture to inspect its product, pushed for the legislation filed by Rhodes.

Raul Otalora, the company’s production manager, said lack of “control” threatens the entire poultry industry.

“I just can imagine the headlines: ‘People sick with salmonella after eating quail,’” he said. “The public is not going to ask, ‘Whose quail was that one?’”

Quail is smaller than a hen, but its meat is more flavorful than chicken and can be prepared in a number of ways, whether fried, roasted or – of course – wrapped in bacon.

Rhodes, a first-term lawmaker, made his case Wednesday to the House Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee.

Naturally the conversation turned to what the bill might mean for hunted quail, which is big business in Georgia. About 150 commercial quail-hunting preserves operate in the state.

Many of those preserves raise quail for hunting, prompting some lawmakers to wonder whether they would be subject to a measure that calls for inspection of “any avian species which are grown commercially for slaughter.”

Rep. Buddy Harden, R-Cordele, said he fears that “some good lawyer could say those (hunted) quail are grown commercially.”

“They are fed and basically raised for slaughter,” he said at Wednesday’s hearing.

He wasn’t the only one with concerns.

“You might kill six, if you’re lucky, but (the preserve) might sell you another 30,” said Rep. Rick Jasperse, R-Jasper. “Will this in anyway harm that?”

To which Rep. Winfred Dukes, D-Albany, replied: “If you’re only killing six, you need to come see me.”

Dukes, who said he grew up around quail-hunting preserves, noted the businesses often have extra quail on hand from previous hunts.

“We don’t consider hunting slaughter,” he said.

Jill Nolin covers the Georgia Statehouse for CNHI’s newspapers and websites. Reach her at jnolin@cnhi.com.