Red Meat Inspection Exemption Act

New on-farm sales for small farms

If enacted, the bill would let qualifying small livestock producers sell meat directly to consumers without Federal Meat Inspection Act inspection when the producer slaughters and processes the animal. The Agriculture Secretary would set terms and special handling rules by regulation. To qualify, in the prior calendar year a producer must have slaughtered no more than 25 cattle, 60 swine, 250 sheep, or 250 goats and must not move their own-farm meat in commerce. The exemption would not apply if the producer slaughtered or processed more than 200 cattle, 500 swine, 2,000 sheep, or 2,000 goats in the prior year. Exempt products would need labels reading "Exempt--21 U.S.C. 623" plus the producer’s name and address, and they could not be adulterated or misbranded. This would take effect upon enactment, and State laws that are more permissive would not be displaced by these federal rules.