small meat processors

A custom slaughter facility is a slaughter facility that does not have a state or federal inspector on duty, which means that the meats from these facilities are not considered state- or federally-inspected meats. These establishments ARE regularly inspected (by the state) for overall sanitation, but the animals themselves are not inspected for disease. Custom […]

Yes, many farmers sell meats directly off their farm. These meats are still required to be processed in a state– or federally-inspected facility and must be labeled properly just as if you were selling the meats any where else. It is also a good idea to recommend that customers bring their own coolers to transport

Yes, you may sell meats at a farmers market, if the market rules allow it. Tell the Market Manager you want to start selling meats, and ask what kind of storage is required by market rules. Most of the time, chest coolers are acceptable, however some markets require that you store meats in a small

Most farmers transport their frozen meats in chest coolers. Again alternative refrigeration such as ice packs, etc. are highly recommended. The chest coolers must be clean along with the transport vehicle. The inspector at the slaughtering facility may inspect the transport vehicle and chest coolers. Unacceptable findings could result in the inspector not allowing the

You can ship or mail meats out of the state if your meats are processed in a federally-inspected plant. You cannot ship or mail meats outside the state if your meats are processed at a state-inspected facility. Frozen meats can be safely shipped by US Mail, UPS, FedEx and other private carriers by using overnight

Yes, legally speaking, “natural” on a meat label only refers to how the meat is processed, not to how the animal was raised. However, some meat companies — starting with Mel Coleman decades ago — have used “natural” to signal that no antibiotics or hormones were administered to the animal during its lifetime (though some

  State Listings A number of states provide a list of processors; we have collected these lists here. Some lists are only subsets (e.g. only state-inspected plants, not federal). Formats vary, from downloadable pdf to searchable online database. If you know of a state list that isn’t posted here, email us. If you find out