Resources

1. Talmadge-Aiken Meat Plants Talmadge-Aiken plants refer to those facilities that operate under the Talmadge-Aiken Act of 1962.52 These are federally inspected slaughterhouses where state employees following federal mandates do the inspections.53 These plants are also known as “[f]acilities operating under the Federal-State Cooperative Agreement Inspection Program (FSCIP)” or “cross-utilization facilities.”54 In 2018, there were…

Not all meat-processing facilities are the same. It is important to know the different types of slaughter and processing plants operating in the United States and more importantly for farmers, the markets they are allowed to process for. The following section describes these various facilities. Not all of these slaughtering and processing plants are available…

Some cultures have very strict meat handling requirements. 1. Halal Requirements Muslim consumers require their meats to be “halal” or “lawful” to their religious scriptures. For many Muslims, this means it should be slaughtered using “zabiha” methods. In general, meat is “haram,” or not allowed, unless it is proven that the meat satisfies halal requirements.29…

NOTE: For our purpose, import and export will be defined as a transaction between two countries (as opposed to two places). The destination of the end product may in some cases determine the inspections required. Import is the act of bringing into a country a commodity from another country or place for sale or exchange.…

NOTE: In this section and the one following on Imports and Exports, we address the movement of meat and meat products. Movement of live animals in interstate and international trade is beyond the scope of this project – as states and countries have very rigid and specific requirements for live animal movement. It is as…

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines commerce as “the exchange or transportation of meat and poultry products between States, U.S. territories . . . , and the District of Columbia.”14 Commerce can be interstate or intrastate.15 A product is only “in commerce” once it is out…

Regulations for livestock slaughter and meat processing vary depending on which market channel the farmer ultimately chooses. The regulations are not consistent across the three different animal classifications, and the determination of the market channel is critical to ensure lawful compliance for the end-market being served. Later chapters discuss specifically the regulations for amenable livestock,…

A farmer must determine the legal classification for her type of livestock or poultry. She must decide if the animals being raised are amenable or not. Amenable is defined as “answerable or accountable to higher authority.” The USDA lists the animals and birds that are considered “amenable” and which must then be slaughtered and processed…

The purposes of government regulations for the inspection of meat and poultry products are to: 1) prevent the sale of adulterated, contaminated, or otherwise unsafe livestock products; 2) prevent misbranding; 3) ensure the safety of consumers by establishing minimum standards for the production, slaughter, processing, and marketing of these products; and 4) create a system…

The United States acknowledged early on that poorly managed livestock and their products could pose a threat for human health. In 1865, USDA Secretary Isaac Newton urged Congress to enact legislation providing for the quarantine of imported animals. On May 29, 1884, President Chester Arthur signed the act establishing the Bureau of Animal Industry, which…