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Changes the Federal meat inspection rules so that an owner (including a part owner) who slaughters an animal or prepares or transports meat only for the owner’s own use, their household, nonpaying guests, or employees is exempt from inspection. If the owner uses an agent to do the slaughtering or handling, the owner must keep custody of the meat and maintain specific identification of the meat as required by the Secretary. The change narrows which activities are exempt from inspection (personal-use slaughter and handling) and adds a custody and identification requirement when anyone other than the owner is used to perform the work. The Secretary of Agriculture has authority to set the identification rules for meat handled by agents.
Amends Section 23(a) of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 623(a)) by removing the prior exemption language and replacing it with a new exemption that covers: the slaughtering of animals by any person who is an owner of the animals in whole or in part, and the preparation or transportation in commerce of carcasses, parts, or meat products from those animals by an owner, when the slaughter, preparation, or transportation is exclusively for the use of the owner or the owner’s household, nonpaying guests, or employees .
Adds a condition that if an owner designates an agent to assist in slaughter, preparation, or transportation covered by the exemption, the owner must maintain custody and specific identification of the carcasses, parts, or meat and meat food products, as determined by the Secretary .
Primary effects fall on small-scale livestock owners, homesteaders, hobby farmers, and part-owners who slaughter animals for personal or household consumption. Those owners gain a clearer exemption from federal inspection when the meat is used only by the owner, household, nonpaying guests, or employees. The rule allows owners to hire agents to perform slaughter or handling but imposes an administrative requirement: owners must retain custody and specific identification of the meat per rules set by the Secretary. That creates a compliance step for owners who engage agents and could require recordkeeping or labeling specified by USDA. Public health regulators and consumers may see modest impacts: the exemption limits federal inspection for personal-use meat, which could raise food-safety questions if large numbers of animals are processed outside inspection. Commercial processors and retail meat businesses are unaffected because the exemption applies only to meat not intended for sale or broader distribution. State or local agencies are not directly mandated to act, though they may choose to enforce or supplement handling and safety requirements under state law.
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Introduced March 31, 2025 by Peter Welch · Last progress March 31, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Introduced in Senate