Understanding Slaughter and Butchering Options in NYS

There are 3 types of facilities licensed and inspected to slaughter animals in NYS. Two of these are overseen by the USDA, and one is overseen by NYS Dept of Agriculture and Markets (NYSDAM). Additionally, NYSDAM manages 20-C licenses, which can allow for the butchering, but not slaughter, of meat for direct sale. Details are below:

What is a Custom Exempt Slaughter Plant? (Freezer Trade)

A Custom Exempt slaughterhouse may process livestock and poultry without federal inspection of the live animal or carcass. These establishments still fall under the jurisdiction of the USDA FSIS but only the facilities are inspected. Consumption of products from a Custom Exempt establishment is limited to the animal’s owner and his or her household, employees and friends. A consumer becomes an animal owner by directly contacting the livestock raiser to purchase an animal prior to slaughter. This is referred to as “freezer trade.” The animal is tracked as belonging to the consumer from the time it is delivered by the farmer to the slaughterhouse. Carcasses and cuts leaving Custom Exempt slaughterhouses are not inspected and are marked “Not for Sale.”

What is a USDA Inspected Slaughter Plant?

USDA facilities have received a “grant of inspection” from the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) branch of the USDA for red meat and/or poultry. In addition, holders of the “triangle-brand” USDA stamp can accept non-amenable farmed red meat species such as bison, elk, rabbits, and fallow deer, etc. Inspected meat from USDA plants can be sold anywhere in the US.

NYS 5-A Plant (Poultry and/or non-amenable (exotic) meats)

These are specialized NYS-licensed facilities that are exempt from federal inspection but require state-issued licenses in order to slaughter and/or process animals. There are numerous 5-A classifications; among them are options for 1) non-amenable red meat slaughter and/or processing, 2) non-amenable poultry slaughtering and/or processing or 3) amenable poultry slaughtering and/or processing under the 20,000 bird small enterprise exemption. Non-amenable products from a 5-A licensed facility may be sold by the farmer. A 5-A poultry plant operating under the small enterprise exemption may purchase poultry from a farmer and sell the processed birds or parts back to the farmer to in turn sell as a distributor under the farmer’s label.

What is a 20-C State Commercial Kitchen? (Retail Cuts and Smokehouses)

20-C meat processing facilities are state licensed commercial kitchens that do not slaughter livestock or poultry. Rather, these facilities further process 1) red meat that was slaughtered and inspected at a USDA slaughterhouse, or 2) poultry that was slaughtered at a registered 5-A facility. Products processed at a 20-C facility can only be sold by the owner of the 20-C license. However, several 20-C licenses can be granted for the use of an individual commercial kitchen and its employees at the discretion of NY state. Processing operations may include dividing carcasses or wholesale cuts into retail cuts, slicing, trimming, grinding, freezing, breaking up bulk shipments, and wrapping services. These products may be sold retail by the owner of the 20-C license. A 20-C commercial kitchen can further process meat and poultry by curing, cooking, smoking, and rendering or refining fat; however these products can only be sold directly to household consumers, for example at a Farmer’s Market. 20-C facilities were NOT included on the map. To locate a 20-C facility, contact your local Cornell Cooperative Extension agent or the NYS Small Scale Food Processors Association.