Slaughtering, Cutting and Processing of Poultry

The Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) outlines the legal conditions under which amenable
poultry must be slaughtered and processed. Amenable poultry species include chickens, turkeys,
ducks, geese, guineas, ratites (ostrich, emu, and rhea), and squabs (pigeons up to one month old).
At minimum, states must conform to these federal requirements. However, states can put in place
regulations that are stricter than the PPIA.

Amenable poultry that is slaughtered and processed under federal inspection can be marketed
through all marketing channels and across state lines. The inspection must include both ante
mortem and post-mortem inspections of the birds.

However there are few, if any, USDA inspected slaughter/processing poultry plants in New York
that a farmer can take more traditional poultry (chickens, turkeys, etc.) to. This is because almost
all of the USDA inspected poultry plants in New York are set up as packers processing only their
own birds they raised or purchased for marketing under their own label to retail stores,
restaurants, and wholesalers. They are not set up to process birds belonging to small local
farmers who want to market their own birds themselves to household consumers, restaurants,
retail stores, or wholesalers. Therefore, it is imperative that poultry farmers in New York be
knowledgeable about the legal exemptions from federal inspection that poultry may be marketed
under.

Policy makers at the USDA FSIS have developed a helpful guidebook for determining when
poultry slaughter or processing operations are exempt from the inspection requirements of the
PPIA.

See USDA-FSIS, Guidance for Determining Whether a Poultry Slaughter or Processing
Operation is Exempt from Inspection Requirements of the Poultry Products Inspection Act (Apr
2006), https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/0c410cbe-9f0c-4981-86a3
a0e3e3229959/Poultry_Slaughter_Exemption_0406.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

The flow chart at the end of this chapter is taken from the USDA FSIS Guidebook and is an
excellent tool for determining which exemption, if any, a poultry business falls under. Even
when exempted from federal inspection, all poultry is legally required by the PPIA to 1) be
healthy at the time of slaughter and 2) be slaughtered and processed under sound sanitary
standards, practices, and procedures that produce poultry products that are sound, clean, and fit
for human food (not adulterated).

1. Ratites

Ratites are large wingless birds including ostriches, emus, and rhea. They are often slaughtered
under federal inspection at USDA dually-licensed facilities. These red meat facilities are
additionally approved to slaughter poultry, though typically those slaughtering ratites do not
slaughter poultry exclusively. At an official establishment, these birds are subject to the
regulatory requirements of the Poultry Products Inspection Act. The plant has to have requested
that the ratites be included in their list of approved species to slaughter under federal inspection.
Meat from these birds can then be offered for sale in any market channel. Also, carcasses or parts
of ostrich or ratites not slaughtered at a USDA establishment may be delivered to a custom
exempt facility by their owner for custom processing provided the birds were previously
slaughtered in accordance with the requirements of the PPIA or equivalent state mandates and
the product is marked “Not for Sale.”

2. Poultry Exemptions at a Glance

3. Poultry Exemptions from Federal Inspection

Exemptions are of two types, one allows unlimited processing of birds intended for an owner’s
personal use. In this case, product is not being sold, but consumed directly. The second type of
exemption is for product entering the marketplace and under which a financial transaction is
made.

a) Personal Use Exemption

Under the Personal Use Exemption, a grower, producer, or owner of poultry can slaughter and
process an unlimited number of their own healthy birds as long as they perform the slaughter and
processing themselves under sanitary conditions and the consumption of the birds is limited to
their own household and nonpaying guests and employees. The resulting poultry products cannot
be sold or even donated for use to other people for use as human food. Any shipping containers
used for poultry under this exemption must be labeled with the statement, “Exempt P.L. 90-492”,
which identifies the product as produced under this exemption.

b) Custom Slaughter/Processing Exemption.

A custom poultry slaughterer is a business or person who slaughters and processes poultry
belonging to someone else solely for the personal use of the grower or owner of the live bird.
The grower/owner of the custom slaughtered or processed poultry may not sell or donate the
custom slaughtered poultry to another person or institution. There is no restriction on the number
of birds the custom business may slaughter or process.

Keep in mind that a custom slaughterer provides a service to a customer and IS NOT permitted
to engage in the additional business of buying or selling poultry products capable of use as
human food. However, a custom slaughterer is permitted to sell live birds to a customer. For
example, a custom slaughterer may sell live poultry to a customer and then custom slaughter the
birds for that customer. Furthermore, a person who is a custom slaughterer and is also a poultry
grower may sell live poultry they have raised to other poultry businesses not associated with
their custom slaughter business.

A custom slaughterer is also permitted to slaughter and process poultry he or she has raised if the
resulting products are solely for consumption by his or her household, nonpaying guests, and
employees. This constitutes an exemption under “Personal Use Exemption” and not the “Custom
Slaughter/Processing Exemption.”

Any shipping containers used for poultry products slaughtered and processed under the Custom
Exemption must bear the producer’s name, the producer’s address, and the statement, “Exempt
P.L. 90-492”, which identifies the product as having been produced under an exemption from the
PPIA.

In New York, the oversight of custom slaughterhouses that handle poultry and/or red meat used
to be subcontracted to the NYDAM Division of Food Safety Inspection. The design of custom
facilities for poultry recommended at that time by NYSDAM was similar to that of the 5-A
poultry plants discussed later in this chapter. Processors should check with NYDAM for more
information on plant requirements.

A custom slaughter business may use a mobile slaughter/processing unit to custom slaughter and
process poultry. The owner of the poultry may deliver the poultry to the mobile
slaughter/processing unit located at his or her own premises or any other person’s premises
provided the slaughtered or processed poultry is for the personal use of the owner of the poultry.
Poultry may also be custom slaughtered and processed at a USDA federally inspected red meat
plant provided that the plant does not engage in the business of buying and selling poultry
products. Ratites (ostriches, emus, and rheas) are often handled this way. Again, product would
be for personal use only and would need to bear the owner’s name, address, and the statement,
Exempt P.L. 90-492. In addition, carcasses or parts of ratites and poultry not slaughtered at a
USDA federally inspected red meat plant can be delivered to such a plant for custom processing
provided they were previously slaughtered in accordance with PPIA or equivalent state
mandates.

4. Poultry Processed for In-State Market Channels

These poultry exemptions to federal inspection relate to poultry products destined for in-state
markets as human food. The first four of these exemptions from federal inspection specifically
restricts the number of birds a business can slaughter or process. The specific exemptions
described below also restrict where and how these birds can be marketed. Each of the
exemptions has specific labeling requirements.

a) Producer/Grower – 1000 Bird Limit Exemption

This exemption is one of the most important for small poultry farmers. It permits a poultry raiser
to slaughter and process their own birds on their own premises for marketing within their state as
human food without federal inspection as long as the number of birds does not exceed 1000
chickens or equivalent within one calendar year. For the purpose of this exemption, one turkey is
equivalent to four chickens.

It is also important to note that both the USDA and NYSDAM interpret this exemption as per
“farm” and not per farmer. If a number of farmers or family members operate on a given location
known as “a farm”, only 1000 birds in total are allowed from this farm for the exemption. Each
farmer or family member raising birds on a particular farm is not entitled to the 1000 bird
exemption.

The PPIA does not spell out any restrictions on where the resulting poultry products can be
marketed, other than that the birds must be sold within state. However, the NYSDAM Division
of Food Safety Inspection prefers that these exchanges be limited to sales directly from the
farmer to the consumer. Thus, birds slaughtered and processed under this 1000 bird exemption in
New York can be sold to consumers directly by the poultry raiser from a farm stand, a store
located on the farm, or from the farm’s stall at a farmer’s market. The Division of Food Safety
Inspection staff is willing to reassure your farm insurance company about the legality of these
transactions. Sales to restaurants fall under the jurisdiction of your local health department and
FDA. However, NYSDAM is not comfortable with sales to an off-farm restaurant, to a retail
store, or to wholesalers or distributors. At this time, there are no written legal opinion statements
from NYSDAM formalizing this interpretation.

The farmer must do the slaughter and processing. The slaughtering premises are not inspected by
NYSDAM unless problems with sanitation or compliance occur. NYSDAM recommends that a
farmer sell only whole carcasses, as selling parts or cut up pieces may make trace-back more
difficult. However, in truth grouping and parting are legally allowed. For example, a farmer can
sell a cut-up bird or a bag of legs. However, NYSDAM cautions that all parts must be from the
same batch of birds and that the farmer should plan for trace-back by implementing thorough
record-keeping.

The farmer must keep flock records, slaughter records and records covering the sale of poultry
products to customers (i.e., sale receipts) to verify that they are staying within the 1000 bird
limit. The poultry raiser can only process poultry of their own raising. They cannot buy or sell
any poultry products other than those from poultry of their own raising.

Although the farmer must do the slaughter and processing, the equipment used may be rented or
provided in the form of a mobile unit. At the time of these revisions (Nov 2019), we are not
aware of any mobile processing units available for rent in NY.

For more information on the 1000-bird limit exemption, where you can legally sell your birds
under this exemption, labeling requirements, sanitary operating procedures and more, refer to
On-Farm Poultry Slaughter Guidelines, a Cornell Small Farms Program publication. It can be
found online at https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/resources/guides/on-farm-poultry-slaughter
guidelines/.

b) Exemptions Requiring a 5-A License

In New York, any slaughter conducted under the remaining exemptions must take place in a state
licensed 5-A poultry plant or food establishment. A business can operate under only one of the
following exemptions and should notify the NYSDAM Division of Food Safety Inspection as to
which exemption they are operating under. Each facility must operate under its own license.
The first three exemptions below are limited to slaughtering and processing no more than 20,000
poultry in a calendar year where a single turkey, goose, chicken, or duck equals “one poultry.”
The poultry and poultry products cannot be marketed out of state. Strictly speaking, the facility
used to slaughter and process poultry under each of these three exemptions cannot be used to
slaughter or process another person’s poultry unless the Administrator of FSIS formally permits
an exception to this regulation.

A 5-A poultry facility is a considerable investment. Many growers have concluded that building
and operating a 5-A facility is not feasible given the small number of birds they raise unless they
can share the facility with another small producer. However, the PPIA is quite clear that the
facility used to slaughter or process the poultry under this exemption cannot be used to slaughter
or process another person’s poultry unless the Administrator of FSIS grants an exemption to this
restriction. Several New York poultry slaughter and processing businesses with help from
NYSDAM have petitioned the Administrator of FSIS for permission to allow plants to be shared
between two or more producer/growers but thus far, all have been denied. However, it might be
worthwhile to resubmit a petition and send a copy of the petition to the USDA FSIS Office of
Policy and Program Development. The state of Kentucky was granted an exception to the
regulation for a mobile plant that is parked at a neutral docking station. Producers go through
intensive training on the mobile plant’s HACCP plans, SSOPs and SOPs and act as the plant’s
on-site manager on the day their birds are scheduled for processing. Each farmer provides their
own labor and no birds from other farms are allowed on the same day. After processing, the
products are reclaimed by the farmer for marketing or storage. They attribute their success in
obtaining an exemption to 1) the location of the docking stations at neutral sites, 2) the intensive
training farmers undergo to act as plant managers, and 3) the farmers maintaining control of their
individual products before, during, and after slaughter.

It is important to understand the exemptions before choosing which exemption best meets your
needs. For example, only under the Small Enterprise Exemption can a plant process another
farmer’s birds by buying the birds from the farmer and, after processing, selling them back to the
farmer, who is now operating as a distributor.

Below are the poultry exemptions requiring a 5-A slaughter/processing facility in New York
State.

c) Producer/Grower or Other Person (PGOP) Exemption – 20,000 Limit Exemption

The term “Producer/Grower or Other Person” (PGOP) refers to a single entity, which may be 1)
a poultry grower who slaughters and processes poultry that he or she raised, or 2) a person who
purchases live poultry from a grower and then slaughters and processes these poultry.
The business is limited to slaughtering and processing no more 20,000 poultry in a calendar year
that the producer/grower or other person raised or purchased. A business preparing poultry
products under the PGOP exemption may not slaughter or process poultry for another person.
Under this exemption, a business is limited to marketing their poultry products directly to: 1)
household consumers, 2) restaurants, 3) hotels, and 4) boarding houses for use in dining rooms or
in the preparation of meals sold directly to customers within the jurisdiction where it is prepared.
A business preparing poultry products under the PGOP exemption may not sell the products to a
retail store or other producer/grower.

Processing under this exemption can include slaughter, evisceration, salting, stuffing rendering,
cutting up, and boning. Parting and grouping are allowed.

These poultry products can only be distributed by the manufacturer and cannot be marketed out
of state. The producer/grower or other person cannot buy or sell poultry or poultry products
prepared under other exemptions in the same calendar year that he or she claims the
Producer/Grower Exemption.

Similar to the Personal Use Exemption and Custom Exemption, any shipping containers must
bear the processor’s name, address and the statement, Exempt P.L. 90-492. Additionally, a
statement of “Safe Handling Instructions” needs to be included. Please note that the “Safe
Handling Instructions” for the poultry exemptions must be modified so that the standard clause
stating that product is “USDA inspected” has been removed. Wing tags and/or labels, and safe
handling instructions are the responsibility of the 5-A facility and must be approved and filed
with NYSDAM.

d) Producer/Grower – 20,000 Limit Exemption

This exemption is designed for poultry growers who raise more than 1000 and less than 20,000
birds in a calendar year for slaughter/processing. The birds must be slaughtered and processed at
a 5-A facility on the farmer’s own premises and the facility cannot be used to slaughter and
process for another producer. All birds must have been raised by the producer/grower.
The grower is permitted to use rented equipment (including an approved mobile
slaughter/processing service), but the equipment cannot be used to slaughter or process another
person’s birds while on the grower’s premises. The grower is required to have a 5-A license for
his or her own premise, even when using a mobile service or rental equipment.

Poultry processed under this exemption can be marketed within state by the grower to any type
of business or consumer including a household consumer, hotel, restaurant, retail store,
institution, or distributor.

Unlike the rules for the exemptions discussed previously, under this exemption, the producer is
NOT the only one permitted to distribute the poultry products that he or she produced under the
exemption. The birds slaughtered and processed under this exemption may be sold to a
wholesaler or other distributor, though the poultry can only be sold within the state in which it
was raised, slaughtered, and processed.

The grower may not buy or sell poultry products prepared under another exemption in the same
calendar year in which this exemption is claimed.

Processing under this exemption can include slaughter, evisceration, salting, stuffing rendering,
cutting up, and boning. Parting and grouping are allowed.

Instead of the required features of a label of inspected product, the label only needs to bear the
producer’s name, b. producer’s address, “Safe Handling Instructions” (see above), and the
statement, “Exempt P.L. 90-492.” If there is no labeled bag on the bird, wing tags at minimum
are required.

e) Small Enterprise Exemption – 20,000 Limit Exemption

Several different types of enterprises fall under this exemption. A business that qualifies for the
Small Enterprise Exemption may be 1) a producer/grower who raises live poultry, 2) a business
that purchases live poultry, and/or 3) a business that purchases dressed poultry for further
distribution. As with the other poultry exemptions, sales are limited to intrastate (within New
York State) commerce.98 The Small Enterprise Exemption is the only 20,000 bird exemption that
allows a processor to purchase fully raised birds from a farmer, slaughter them, and sell them back to the same farmer, who is now acting as a distributor and can in turn sell them direct to household customers, restaurants, hotels and institutions, and retailers.

Under this exemption processing of birds is limited to the cutting up of dressed carcasses.
Parting and grouping are allowed. However, no manufacturing of product is allowed. For
example, turkey sausage cannot be made under this exemption. Slaughtering of birds is allowed.
A business is limited to dressing no more than 20,000 birds in a calendar year. Poultry can be
marketed to any type of business or consumer including a hotel, restaurant, institution, retail
store, or distributor.

A small enterprise is not required to have slaughtered the poultry it cuts up under a Small
Enterprise Exemption. Instead, it may purchase poultry slaughtered under USDA federal
inspection or at another instate 5-A facility processed under the Producer/Grower 20,000 Bird
Limit Exemption.

A small enterprise may handle “pass through” product and may cut exempt product produced
under the Producer/Grower 20,000 bird Exemption. A small enterprise may also sell live poultry
to a customer and then slaughter, dress, and cut up the poultry for the customer.

A small enterprise may not cut up and distribute poultry products produced under the Small
Enterprise Exemption to another business operating under the Producer/Grower Exemption,
PGOP Exemption, Retail Dealer Exemption, or the Retail Store Exemptions. Further, this facility
cannot be used to slaughter or dress another person’s poultry unless the Administrator of FSIS
grants an exemption.

However, it is completely legal for a business operating under the Small Enterprise
Exemption to buy live poultry from another poultry raiser, slaughter and dress the birds,
and then sell the same birds back to the original grower who can now act as a distributor of
the product and market it to retail stores, restaurants, and direct consumers. The
farmer/distributor cannot hold a 5-A Producer/Grower license. It is important to note that
these two buy-sell transactions must be recorded separately and that receipts for both
purchase/sale be recorded. Receipts should not indicate any charge for slaughtering or
dressing.

Labels for poultry products marketed under the Small Enterprise Exemption must include plant
owner’s name, address, product’s name, ingredient list, date of packing, «Safe Handling
Instructions» and the statement, «Exempt P.L. 90-492. If no label is provided, wing tags are
required for birds being processed under the small enterprise exemption.

If the 5-A plant is providing the label then the statement «Manufactured by __Plant ABC» must
be on the label. In addition, the words, «Manufactured for _Farmer ABC____» or «Distributed by
_Farmer ABC_» may be added to the label to indicate the name of the distributor (farmer). The
address and phone must be that of the processor but may also include that of the distributor.
If the distributor (or farmer) is providing the label, then the distributor’s name (the farmer)
should predominately appear on the label and the statement should read «Processed for _ Farmer
ABC ___.” In addition, the words «Manufactured by _Plant ABC___» may be added to indicate
the processing facility. The address and phone must be that of the distributor but may also
include that of the processor. All other labeling requirements, including the statement «Exempt
P.L. 90-492,” apply.

Please note that a distributor cannot resell birds under this exemption to another distributor.
Rather the second distributor can act as a transporter, simply carrying, trucking or moving the
birds between the parties.

f) Retail Exemptions (Store/Dealer/Restaurant)
A retail business is a facility where poultry products are sold to a customer (household
consumers and hotels, restaurants, and similar institutions) at the retail business and the amounts
purchased by the customer are considered normal amounts for retail purchase. These exemptions
are not commonly claimed by poultry growers.

The Act provides for several types of retail exemptions: (1) the Retail Dealer Exemption, (2) the
Retail Store Exemption, and (3) the Restaurant Exemption. The type of poultry transactions and
slaughter and processing operations a business conducts, determines which retail exemption
under which the business may produce poultry and whether a 5-A license is required.

(1) Retail Dealer Exemption

Businesses operating under this exemption are not permitted to slaughter poultry. Instead, they
purchase poultry carcasses or parts. They are not permitted to process any poultry but are only
allowed to cut-up poultry. No other forms of processing are allowed under this exemption. In
addition, a 5-A license is required.

Any out of state sales they make are limited to their USDA inspected poultry products. Any
poultry products they sell to instate customers must either have been USDA inspected or
slaughtered/processed at an instate Producer/Grower or Small Enterprise Exempt plant. Keep in
mind that birds slaughtered/processed under the PGOP Exemption cannot be sold to retail
dealers or stores.

There is no limit on the pounds of poultry products a retail dealer can sell to his or her customers
under the Retail Dealer Exemption. However, sales to hotels, restaurants, and similar institutions
cannot exceed 25% of the dollar value of their total poultry product sales. In other words, 75% or
more of their sales have to be to household consumers. They are not permitted to sell to other
retail markets or distributors.

Labels for poultry products produced under the Retail Store Exemption which were not
slaughtered and processed at a USDA federally inspected plant must include product’s name,
ingredients statement, statement of quantity of contents (weight or measure), name and address
of manufacturer, date of packing, “Safe Handling Instructions” and a statement indicating why
the inspection legend is not permitted such as “Retail Exemption from inspection”.

(2) Retail Store Exemption

Many of the live poultry markets in New York City are licensed as 5-A facilities under this
exemption. The only poultry that can be slaughtered under the retail store exemption is poultry
that is purchased live at the retail store by the customer and then slaughtered, dressed and
prepared according to the customer’s instructions at the same retail store and delivered back to
the customer. If the store takes orders for dressed poultry before the arrival of the customer (for
example, by phone), and slaughters several birds at one time for various customers, the birds
must be identified throughout the process so that the processed bird that each customer receives
is the same live bird originally selected by or for them.

The retail business is not allowed to custom slaughter live birds delivered to the facility by the
customer, but can custom process poultry carcasses delivered by the customer if they were
slaughtered under USDA inspection or an acceptable poultry exemption.

Similar to the previous exemption, any other poultry products the retail store sells to in-state
customers must either have been USDA inspected or slaughtered/processed at an instate
Producer/Grower or Small Enterprise Exempt plant.

Exempt retailers are not permitted to sell to other retail markets or distributors, nor can any of
their federally exempt poultry products be marketed out of state.
The allowed processing operations under the retail store exemption include boning, cut up,
stuffing, smoking, rendering, and salting. Canning is not permitted.

Poultry sales are limited to “normal retail amounts.” These are considered less than 75 pounds
for household consumers and less than 150 pounds for hotels, restaurants, and similar
institutions. Sales to hotels, restaurants and similar institutions cannot exceed 25% of the dollar
value of their total poultry product sales nor can these sales exceed the dollar limit for retail
stores set each calendar year by the Administrator of FSIS. This dollar limit is published each
year in the Federal Register and does not include pass through poultry products derived from
federally inspected poultry that are not further processed at the retail store.

Labels for poultry products produced under the Retail Store Exemption which was not
slaughtered and processed at a USDA federally inspected plant must include product’s name,
ingredients statement, statement of quantity of contents (weight or measure), name and address
of manufacturer, date of packing, “Safe Handling Instructions” and a statement indicating why
the inspection legend is not permitted such as “Retail Exemption from inspection.

3) Retail Restaurant Exemption

The poultry used in the preparation of meals at a restaurant with this exemption must either have
been slaughtered under USDA inspection or at a 5-A plant which is permitted to sell to
restaurants (PGOP, Producer/Grower or Small Enterprise) While a 5-A license is not required for
this exemption, restaurants are regulated by the State or local Departments of Health and are
required to have an appropriate permit.

For more information on poultry processing in New York and to apply for specific poultry
exemptions, contact the NYSDAM Division of Food Safety Inspection at (518) 457-5457. The
FSIS District Office is located at 230 Washington Ave. Extension, Albany, NY 12203-5369 and
can be reached by phone at (518) 452-6870