FSIS Summary of Meat Inspection Requirements

Retail/Restaurant/Central Kitchen
Exemption (9 CFR 303.1(f )(iv)(a)(6))
Operations traditionally and usually conducted
at retail stores, restaurants, and retail-type
establishments that offer meat and meat food
products for sale or service to household consumers
generally are exempt from mandatory inspection.

United States
Department of
Agriculture

Only inspected and passed meat and meat food
products (those bearing a mark of inspection)
may be used in the preparation of products sold
(including meals) at retail stores or restaurants.
Sales must be in normal retail quantities, and
certain Federal requirements apply (e.g., safe
handling labels are required for raw product). Retail
stores may prepare product for sale to other than
household consumers (i.e., hotels, restaurants, or
similar institutions (HRI)), but such HRI sales are
limited to the annual dollar value or percentage of
total retail sales specified by FSIS regulations (http://
www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/caa3b2a4cb0f-4835-a112-fb216ea3db72/2015-0009.pdf?
MOD=AJPERES). HRI sales also are limited by
regulation to certain kinds of products (9 CFR
303.1(d) (2)).

The Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) is the
public health agency in the U.S. Department of
Agriculture responsible for ensuring that the
Nation’s commercial supply of meat, poultry, and
egg products is safe, wholesome, and correctly
labeled and packaged.

United States
Department of
Agriculture

Summary of Federal
Inspection Requirements
for Meat Products
Food Safety and Inspection Service

Under certain conditions, products may be
prepared at a restaurant central kitchen for sale in
another facility without the benefit of inspection.
To qualify, such products must be ready-to-eat
when they leave the facility and safely transported
under strict temperature controls to the destination
restaurant where the product will be reheated and
served to the end consumer. Product prepared at
a central kitchen may only be transported to and
prepared by restaurants under the same ownership.
Operations exempt from inspection under the
FMIA may be regulated and inspected under
State and local laws.

For more information,
contact
FSIS Small Plant Help Desk
1-877-374-7435 or [email protected]
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Slightly Revised September 2015

Personal/Individual Use Exemption

Inspection Requirement:

(9 CFR 303.1(a)(1))

Meat products intended for commercial
sale must be inspected.

Federal Inspection
(21 U.S.C. 601, et seq.)

The Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) requires that
all meat sold commercially be inspected and passed to
ensure that it is safe, wholesome, and properly labeled.
The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is
responsible for providing this inspection.
The FMIA requires inspection for any product
intended for human consumption, wholly or in part,
from the carcass or parts of any cattle, sheep, swine,
and goat. These animals, defined as “livestock” in the
regulations, must be slaughtered and processed under
Federal inspection, and the meat food products must
be inspected and passed for human consumption.
Food products from animals not subject to inspection
under the FMIA (nonamenable species) are subject
to regulation by U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) and State and local authorities.
Federal inspection personnel must be present at all
times during livestock slaughter operations and for at
least part of each shift during which there is further
processing of meat products.
In slaughter plants, inspection personnel verify the
humane handling of animals and conduct antemortem inspection to ensure that the live animal
is fit for slaughter. These inspection personnel also
conduct post-mortem inspection to ensure that
the meat from the carcass and internal organs are
fit for human food. When meat is distributed to
other federally inspected establishments for further
processing, the product is inspected to ensure that
the product is safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled

Under certain conditions, a person may slaughter/
prepare livestock of his/her own raising for the exclusive
use by him/her, members of his/her family, and his/her
non-paying guests without the benefit of inspection.
Absolutely no product produced under this exemption
may be sold commercially.
and packaged. Inspected establishments must
maintain and follow written Sanitation Standard
Operating Procedures (SSOP) and Hazard Analysis
and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans.
In addition to inspecting the meat products, inspection
personnel inspect the facilities and equipment to
ensure sanitary conditions are maintained. FSIS also
reviews records to ensure they accurately document
establishment verification that the meat food products
are in compliance with all applicable requirements.

State Inspection
(21 U.S.C. 661)

Establishments that produce meat products sold
entirely within a State require Federal inspection
unless they are regulated under a State Meat and
Poultry Inspection (MPI) program.
These State MPI programs are required to enforce
requirements “at least equal to” those imposed under
the Federal Acts.

Custom Exemption
(9 CFR 303.1(a)(2))

A custom-exempt establishment is one that slaughters
and prepares livestock belonging to someone else for
the exclusive use of that person. The custom-exempt
facility provides a service for the livestock owner; it is not
producing commercial product.
Custom-exempt facilities are exempt from the FMIA
requirements for carcass-by-carcass inspections and
the daily presence of inspectors during operations.
Even so, the facility is not exempt from the adulteration,
misbranding, and certain record-keeping provisions
of those statutes.
Custom-exempt establishments are reviewed
periodically to verify that facilities are maintained
and operated in a manner that produces a safe,
clean, and wholesome meat food product in a
sanitary environment and are otherwise complying
with the FMIA.

State MPI programs certify annually, and FSIS reviews
each State MPI program annually to determine
whether each program meets the requisite “at
least equal to” standard. As of September 2015, 27
States maintain cooperative agreements with FSIS
to administer MPI programs, and FSIS reimburses a
portion of the State’s operating costs.

{

Exemptions: Certain meat products may be

exempt from inspection requirements. However,
they are still subject to the adulteration and
misbranding provisions of the FMIA.

FSIS Small Plant Help Desk

}

— 1-877-374-7435 — [email protected]

—

www.fsis.usda.gov