~ United States Department of Agriculture 

December 5, 2023 

Honest Meats, LLC 

M7420+V7420 ELECTRONIC MAIL on December 5, 2023 

256 Charles Street 

Harrisonburg, VA 22802-4612 

office@temeats.com; lauren@temeats.com 

540-434-4415 

Attention: Lauren Iverson, Managing Partner 

NOTICE OF DEFERRAL 

Dear Ms. Iverson, 

On November 22, 2023, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a Notice of Intended 

Enforcement (NOIE) to your establishment, Honest Meats, LLC, Est. M7420. The NOIE provided 

your firm with official notification of our intent to suspend the assignment of inspectors for the 

slaughter process at your establishment located at 256 Charles Street, Harrisonburg, VA, in 

accordance with Title 9 of the Code of Federal Regulations (9 CFR), part 500.3(b). This action 

was based on the egregious humane handling incident in which a large hog was observed to have 

regained consciousness while hanging on the bleed rail. 

In the NOIE, FSIS requested the following information be provided within three working days 

from the date of your establishment’s receipt of the NOIE letter. 

1. Identify the specific reason(s) why the event occurred. 

2. Describe the specific actions that will be taken to eliminate the cause of the incident 

and prevent future recurrences. 

3. Describe the future monitoring activities that your establishment will use to ensure 

that the actions are effective. 

On November 28 & 29 and December 1, 2023, you submitted responses to the incident. After 

careful review of all your submitted documentation, the Raleigh District Office (RDO) determined 

that you adequately addressed FSIS’s concerns. 

This letter serves as written notification that FSIS is deferring the decision to suspend slaughter 

inspection at your facility. The deferral of this decision will remain in effect until your firm has 

demonstrated effective implementation of its proposed corrective and preventive measures, and 

that those measures have been verified by FSIS to ensure no repetition of noncompliance related 

to your facility’s responsibilities for the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act and FSIS regulations. 

FSIS is committed to monitoring establishment’s operations to see that they are fully complying 

with regulatory requirements. Because of this commitment, enclosed is a copy of FSIS’ 

Verification Plan which will be used by inspection personnel to verify your facility’s regulatory 
LAUREN IVERSON, MANAGING PARTNER Notice of Intended Enforcement 

HONEST MEATS, LLC, M7420+V7420 November 22, 2023 

compliance in conjunction with the conditions ofthis Notice ofDefe1rnl. This specific Verification 

Plan is designed to verify that your establishment fully implements coITective measures proffered 

and that these actions are effective in assming ongoing regulato1y compliance. It identifies specific 

elements of your coITective measures and the relevant regulato1y requirements that Inspection 

Program Personnel will verify until FSIS determines that your establishment has effectively 

implemented its proposed coITective and preventive measures. Our verification includes the 

expectation that you meet any timeframe commitments you have identified in your proposed 

coITective actions. Should your fnm fail to operate in accordance with its commitments, or to 

comply with the regulato1y requirements, FSIS will take immediate and appropriate regulato1y 

control actions. 

You are reminded that as an operator of a federally inspected facility, you are expected to fully 

comply with all FSIS regulations and to take appropriate coITective actions to prevent the 

inhumane treatment and slaughter of livestock. The Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1978 

(Section 1901, 1902, and 1906) states that the slaughtering and handling of livestock are to be 

caITied out only by humane methods. 9 CFR 313 contains the FSIS regulato1y requirements that 

were promulgated based on the HMSA and the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA). It is fully 

expected that you comply with the HMSA, FMIA, and the regulato1y requirements of Pait 313, 

and that you cany out each of the coITective and preventive actions you proffered in response to 

the egregious incident. Failure to comply could result in the suspension at your facility or other 

appropriate administrative or legal actions. We urge your company's cooperation and voluntaiy 

compliance. 

If you have any questions, please conta.ct Todd Furey via telephone at 919-326-5281 or via 

electronic mail at todd.furey2@usda.gov. Additionally, you can contact Raleigh District Office 

at 919-844-8400 or by fax at 844-839-6359. 

Sincerely, 

MARK ROLi NG DigitallysignedbyMARKROLNG 

Date: 2023.12.05 07:53:41 -05'00' 

Todd Furey 

District Manager 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

LAUREN IVERSON, MANAGING PARTNER Notice of Intended Enforcement 

HONEST MEATS, LLC, M7420+V7420 November 22, 2023 

cc: S. Johnson, EARO/FO 

L Hortert RD/CID/OIEA 

(b) (6)

HHEC/FO 

T. Furey, DM/RDO/FO 

R. Murphy, DDM/RDO/FO 

M. Roling, DDM/RDO/FO 

A. Gupton, DDM/RDO/FO 

(b) (6)

DCS/RDO/FO 

State Public Health Veterinarian/VDACS 

(b) (6)

Supervisor/VDACS 

(b) (6) (b) (6) (b) (6) (b) (6)

DVMS/RDO/FO 

SEIAO/RDO/FO 

Program Manager/VDACS

 Inspection Manager/VDACS 

State Public Health Veterinarian/VDACS 

Quarterly Enforcement Report 

Establishment File (Est. M7420) 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Establishment Name: Honest Meats 

Establishment Number: M7420 

Two-Week Period Ending: 

Reason for Verification: On 11/22/2023, Establishment M7420 was issued an NOIE for failure 

to meet 9 CFR 313 of the regulations. On 12/04/2023, the establishment was issued a NOD 

after submitting acceptable corrective actions and preventive measures. 

Information for Establishment Management: This verification plan was created from the 

corrective actions and preventive measures which were submitted to, and which were 

accepted by, the Raleigh District Office. As such, any changes to these corrective actions and 

preventive measures needs to be approved by the Raleigh District Office prior to 

implementation. 

Instructions for completion of Humane Handling and Slaughter Verification form: 

1. "Results of Verification" column should be recorded as "Acceptable", "Unacceptable", or 

"N/A" 

2. "Inspection Actions" column should be used to document unacceptable findings or any 

additional corrective actions taken in compliance with 9 CFR 

313. 

3. The implementation and effectiveness of the establishment's corrective actions should be 

verified at the frequencies stated below. The in-plant inspection team (IPP) can request, 

through supervisory channels, a change in the frequencies when the determination is made 

that the establishment has effectively implemented the corrective actions. 

4. Each day verification activities are performed, IPP should add a Directed Livestock Humane 

Handling Verification task in PHIS and use the justification "Verification Plan for Enforcement 

Actions" to justify the scheduling of the Directed 

task. 

5. IPP will provide bi-weekly verification updates detailing the results of verification activities 

and submit to the SPHV/FLS for review. 

6. The completed bi-weekly report will be submitted via email to 

(b) (6) (b) (6)

, District 

Veterinary Medical Specialist, and to , District Case Specialist. 

Items to Verify Results of 

Verification 

Inspection Actions 

1. Verify that training has 

been completed for 

employees. (Once) 

Completed 

12/04/2023 

Documents verifying proof of 

training submitted with final 

response. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Verify that hogs 

approximately 600 lbs. or 

greater are given a security 

stun with a hand-held 

captive bolt device. (Daily, 

for each slaughter day, as 

appropriate) 

3. Verify that the Kill Floor 

Supervisor or designee 

monitors the stunning and 

security stun for 100% of 

the larger hogs. (Daily, for 

each slaughter day, as 

appropriate) 

4. Verify that monitoring 

results are documented on 

the Large Hog Stunning 

Monitoring Record. (Daily, 

for each slaughter day, as 

appropriate) 

5. Verify the effective 

stunning of larger hogs 

using the updated stunning 

procedure. (Daily, for each 

slaughter day, as 

appropriate) 

Comments and Recommendations 

Two-Week Period Ending: 

IIC Comments/Recommendation: 

SPHV Comments/Recommendation (if not the IIC):