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 383 Talmadge-Aiken plants in thirteen states.55 As of 2018,
states on the East Coast that contain Talmadge-Aiken meat plants are Delaware (9), Georgia
(59), North Carolina (106), South Carolina (8), Vermont (12), and Virginia (38).56 Inspected
meat from these plants can be sold across state lines. New York has no Talmadge-Aiken plants.
2. State-Licensed USDA-Equivalent Slaughterhouses
As briefly discussed in Section II.D Intrastate or Interstate?, these plants have been granted state
licenses for state inspection of carcasses. These plants are very similar to USDA plants.
However, inspectors working at these facilities are paid for by state tax dollars. They inspect
carcasses and facilities for compliance with state rather than federal regulations. They are held to
standards equal but not necessarily identical to federally inspected plants. Inspected meat from
these plants can be sold within state for intrastate commerce but not out of state (in interstate
commerce); however, if the plant is within a state that has entered into an additional cooperating
agreement, the Cooperative Interstate Shipment Program, with the federal government, then
inspected meat from the plant can be sold out of state.
In 2019, 27 states had their own Meat and/or Poultry Inspection Programs (MPIs) under which
state-licensed USDA-equivalent plants could operate (see chart below). Among these states, the
closest to New York were Maine, Vermont, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio. Five
states are also enrolled in the Cooperative Interstate Shipment Program: Indiana, Maine
(agreement signed in August 2018), North Dakota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.57 New York does not
have its own MPI and thus no such plants operate in New York. Although there is appreciable
interest on the part of NY farmers in resuming state inspection, a serious barrier to this option is
the cost of hiring more inspectors.
This listing is available online at FSIS, FSIS Review of State Meat and Poultry Inspection
Program: Fiscal Year 2018 Summary Report, https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/
ebbd45b9-d4cf-49c3-a171-47638179af4b/Review-of-State-Programs.pdf?MOD=AJPERES. The
appendices that the report links to provide specific information about each state. A slightly older
list with the same number of states is also available on FSIS’s website at States Operating Their
Own MPI Programs, FSIS (last modified Mar. 23, 2015), http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations_
&_policies/listing_of_participating_states/index.asp .
Inspection Determination
Flow Chart for Amenable Red Meat
