Human Food Waste and Swine: Protecting 

the Health of the U.S. Swine Industry

As part of its mission to protect the health of American 

agriculture, the United States Department of Agriculture’s 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), works 

to prevent foreign animal diseases from entering the U.S. and 

harming our nation’s livestock and poultry.

One way that APHIS does this is to enforce the Swine Health 

Protection Act, which provides rules for feeding human food 

waste to pigs. Feeding human food waste to pigs creates 

benefits like minimizing nutritional waste, decreasing the 

amount of garbage that goes into landfills, and providing a 

cheap or free source of nutrition to pigs. 

However, this practice, 

which is commonly known as garbage feeding, can 

spread diseases if contaminated meat products are fed 

to pigs. Garbage feeding causes swine disease 

outbreaks in many countries around the world, which 

negatively impacts swine health and are costly to 

control. 

Swine Health Protection Act

Congress passed the Swine Health Protection Act in 

1980 in order to better protect the country’s swine 

herd. The Swine Health Protection Act requires that 

anyone who feeds their pigs garbage – human food 

that contains meat or has come in contact with meat 

during the food preparation process – must have a 

license to do so. Each state decides whether to make 

garbage feeding legal or illegal in their state. 

Information for Licensed Garbage Feeders

Licensed garbage feeders must properly handle and cook garbage before feeding to swine 

in order to prevent disease spread. Some disease-causing organisms can survive in meat 

and can cause disease in pigs if the meat is cooked or handled incorrectly. Even more 

dangerous, some animal diseases that do not exist in our country could be brought to the 

Animal and Plant

Health Inspection 

Service

August 2020

Is Garbage Feeding Legal or 

Illegal in Your State?

Know the rules before attempting 

any garbage feeding or providing 

garbage for pigs. Find out if your 

state allows garbage feeding. 

Call 1-866-536-7593 or visit 

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/anim

al_health/animal_dis_spec/swine

/downloads/swine-healthprotection-map.pdf
2

U. S. by contaminated meat, including foot and mouth disease (FMD), African swine 

fever (ASF) or classical swine fever (CSF). If these diseases were ever found in pigs in 

the U. S., they could severely harm our nation’s pork industry. 

How do I Prevent Disease Spread?

If you are a licensed garbage feeder, proper handling and cooking of the garbage play the 

most important roles for stopping the spread of disease. 

• Pigs should never have access to uncooked garbage. 

• Uncooked garbage should never be collected or 

stored in containers that are used to store or handle 

cooked garbage.

• Using the same containers to handle both uncooked 

and cooked garbage could allow for crosscontamination and expose pigs to disease-causing 

organisms. 

Garbage should be cooked to a boil (212ο Fahrenheit) for a minimum of 30 minutes

while stirring the garbage to make sure it all gets to the correct temperature, and then 

allowed to cool before being fed to pigs.

Watch for Signs of Illness

Pig producers should always be on the lookout for FMD, ASF and CSF, even though we 

don’t have them in the U.S.

• FMD is a viral disease where the pigs develop blisters on snouts and feet.

• ASF and CSF are caused by different viruses, but both can cause high death loss, 

blotchy skin that is red or purple, and vomiting or diarrhea with blood in the manure.

If you are a licensed garbage feeder and you suspect any of these diseases in your 

pigs, call your inspector immediately. 

Information for Food Facilities

Garbage feeders may approach owners or managers of 

restaurants, groceries, and cafeterias to request food waste. 

If you are approached, it is essential to know whether 

garbage feeding is legal or illegal in your state.

States where Garbage Feeding is Illegal

If you are based in a state where garbage feeding is illegal, 

do not allow anyone other than your normal garbage 

disposal company to pick up your food waste. 

States Where Garbage Feeding is Legal

If you are based in a state where garbage feeding is legal, you should confirm that the 

individual is licensed as a garbage feeder before providing any food waste. Call APHIS at 

1-866-536-7593 to verify their license.