Of the five federal exemptions in the summary table, two allow a licensed facility to slaughter, cut up, and sell up to 20,000 birds per calendar year to any consumer, restaurant, institution, or retail outlet, including farmers’ markets, within a state that permits the sale of exempt poultry.
See cautions below AND check your state's regs.
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Producer/Grower 20,000 Bird Limit
A grower can slaughters his own poultry for sale in his own licensed exempt facility under the Producer-Grower 20,000 Bird Limit exemption. Any distributor can distribute poultry processed in this manner. The poultry products must be labeled with:
1. The name and address of the poultry processor
2. Safe handling instruction that comply with Title 9 CFR 381.125(b)(2)(ii)
3. The statement “Exempted – P.L. 90-492.”
4. Explanatory statement indicating why the inspection legend is not permitted; for example, the phrase “Producer/Grower Exemption from Inspection” is suggested but is not a mandatory requirement.
Working with a Small Enterprise Exempt Operation
A grower can sell his/her birds to a "Small Enterprise Exempt" processor who slaughters, prepares, and packages the birds (whole and/or cut up) for retail purchase. The producer can buy these same birds back and sell them, acting as a distributor. Another distributor could also buy them from the processor to sell.
Poultry products produced under a Small Enterprise Exemption MUST bear all of the features of a label for inspected product EXCEPT the label cannot indicate that the product was inspected and passed. Label requirements for this exempt uninspected product include:
1. Name of the product;
2. Ingredients statement;
3. Statement of the quantity of contents in terms of weight or measures;
4. Name and address of manufacturer;
5. Handling statement;
6. Safe handling instruction that comply with Title 9 CFR 381.125(b)(2)(ii)
7. Date of packing; and
8. Explanatory statement indicating why the inspection legend is not permitted; for example, the phrase “Small Enterprise Exemption from Inspection” is suggested by FSIS but is not a mandatory requirement.
Cautions
1. This information does not apply in all states.
These are federal regulations, and a number of states have stricter state regulations governing food sales. See state regulations LINK. Regulations governing how exempt poultry can be sold are typically in a state's Food Code, usually (but not always) administered by the state health department.
2. These exemptions are mutually exclusive.
A producer/processor may NOT slaughter and process exempt poultry for other producers, even if the facility does not process more than a total of 20,000 birds per calendar year. Additionally, exempt processors may NOT buy or sell poultry products other than his/her own.
3. Adequate Water Required
If you are planning to build a processing facility, exempt or otherwise, you must first prove that you have an adequate potable water source and waste water handling/treatment capacity.
If a state has adopted an FDA model Food Code of any year verbatim or by reference, then producers can retail, wholesale, and distribute as directed by the table above and according to 9 CFR 381.10.
Bottom Line
We suggest you consult with your state's food inspection agency. You may have to work with them to review the exact Food Code regulatory language of your state to determine what is and is not legal.
