For more information,

contact

FSIS Small Plant Help Desk 

1-877-374-7435 or InfoSource@fsis.usda.gov

Retail/Restaurant/Central Kitchen 

Exemption(9 CFR 303.1(f)(iv)(a)(6))

Operations traditionally and usually conducted 

at retail stores, restaurants, and retail-type 

establishments that offer meat and meat food 

products for sale or service to household consumers 

generally are exempt from mandatory inspection. 

Only inspected and passed meat and meat food 

products (those bearing a mark of inspection) 

may be used in the preparation of products sold 

(including meals) at retail stores or restaurants. 

Sales must be in normal retail quantities, and 

certain Federal requirements apply (e.g., safe 

handling labels are required for raw product). Retail 

stores may prepare product for sale to other than 

household consumers (i.e., hotels, restaurants, or 

similar institutions (HRI)), but such HRI sales are 

limited to the annual dollar value or percentage of 

total retail sales specified by FSIS regulations (http://

www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/caa3b2a4-

cb0f-4835-a112-fb216ea3db72/2015-0009.pdf? 

MOD=AJPERES). HRI sales also are limited by 

regulation to certain kinds of products (9 CFR 

303.1(d) (2)).

Under certain conditions, products may be 

prepared at a restaurant central kitchen for sale in 

another facility without the benefit of inspection. 

To qualify, such products must be ready-to-eat 

when they leave the facility and safely transported 

under strict temperature controls to the destination 

restaurant where the product will be reheated and 

served to the end consumer. Product prepared at 

a central kitchen may only be transported to and 

prepared by restaurants under the same ownership. 

Operations exempt from inspection under the 

FMIA may be regulated and inspected under 

State and local laws.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

The Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) is the 

public health agency in the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture responsible for ensuring that the 

Nation’s commercial supply of meat, poultry, and 

egg products is safe, wholesome, and correctly 

labeled and packaged.

United States

Department of

Agriculture

Slightly Revised September 2015 

United States

Department of

Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Summary of Federal 

Inspection Requirements

for Meat Products
and packaged. Inspected establishments must 

maintain and follow written Sanitation Standard 

Operating Procedures (SSOP) and Hazard Analysis 

and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans. 

In addition to inspecting the meat products, inspection 

personnel inspect the facilities and equipment to 

ensure sanitary conditions are maintained. FSIS also 

reviews records to ensure they accurately document 

establishment verification that the meat food products 

are in compliance with all applicable requirements.

State Inspection

(21 U.S.C. 661)

Establishments that produce meat products sold 

entirely within a State require Federal inspection 

unless they are regulated under a State Meat and 

Poultry Inspection (MPI) program. 

These State MPI programs are required to enforce 

requirements “at least equal to” those imposed under 

the Federal Acts. 

State MPI programs certify annually, and FSIS reviews 

each State MPI program annually to determine 

whether each program meets the requisite “at 

least equal to” standard. As of September 2015, 27 

States maintain cooperative agreements with FSIS 

to administer MPI programs, and FSIS reimburses a 

portion of the State’s operating costs.

Exemptions: Certain meat products may be 

exempt from inspection requirements. However, 

they are still subject to the adulteration and 

misbranding provisions of the FMIA.

Federal Inspection 

(21 U.S.C. 601, et seq.)

The Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) requires that 

all meat sold commercially be inspected and passed to 

ensure that it is safe, wholesome, and properly labeled. 

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is 

responsible for providing this inspection. 

The FMIA requires inspection for any product 

intended for human consumption, wholly or in part, 

from the carcass or parts of any cattle, sheep, swine, 

and goat. These animals, defined as “livestock” in the 

regulations, must be slaughtered and processed under 

Federal inspection, and the meat food products must 

be inspected and passed for human consumption.

Food products from animals not subject to inspection 

under the FMIA (nonamenable species) are subject 

to regulation by U.S. Food and Drug Administration 

(FDA) and State and local authorities. 

Federal inspection personnel must be present at all 

times during livestock slaughter operations and for at 

least part of each shift during which there is further 

processing of meat products. 

In slaughter plants, inspection personnel verify the 

humane handling of animals and conduct antemortem inspection to ensure that the live animal 

is fit for slaughter. These inspection personnel also 

conduct post-mortem inspection to ensure that 

the meat from the carcass and internal organs are 

fit for human food. When meat is distributed to 

other federally inspected establishments for further 

processing, the product is inspected to ensure that 

the product is safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled 

FSIS Small Plant Help Desk — 1-877-374-7435 — InfoSource@fsis.usda.gov — www.fsis.usda.gov

Personal/Individual Use Exemption 

(9 CFR 303.1(a)(1))

Under certain conditions, a person may slaughter/

prepare livestock of his/her own raising for the exclusive 

use by him/her, members of his/her family, and his/her 

non-paying guests without the benefit of inspection. 

Absolutely no product produced under this exemption 

may be sold commercially.

Custom Exemption

(9 CFR 303.1(a)(2))

A custom-exempt establishment is one that slaughters 

and prepares livestock belonging to someone else for 

the exclusive use of that person. The custom-exempt 

facility provides a service for the livestock owner; it is not 

producing commercial product. 

Custom-exempt facilities are exempt from the FMIA 

requirements for carcass-by-carcass inspections and 

the daily presence of inspectors during operations. 

Even so, the facility is not exempt from the adulteration, 

misbranding, and certain record-keeping provisions 

of those statutes. 

Custom-exempt establishments are reviewed

periodically to verify that facilities are maintained 

and operated in a manner that produces a safe, 

clean, and wholesome meat food product in a 

sanitary environment and are otherwise complying 

with the FMIA. 

Inspection Requirement: 

Meat products intended for commercial 

sale must be inspected. 

{ }