Beef, pork, lamb, poultry — excluded from Cottage Food
USDA-INSPECTED FACILITY REQUIRED
Bottom line: Meat is excluded from cottage food no matter how small the operation — it has to move through a USDA-inspected facility, with a separate, narrower path for small-scale poultry raised and slaughtered on your own farm.
The Path
Meat is excluded from Florida's cottage food law regardless of sales volume. Red meat and general poultry must be processed at a USDA-inspected facility, or sold under Florida's retail exemption for a federally-inspected processor selling direct to consumers (still subject to periodic USDA-FSIS, FDACS, and county inspection). Custom-exempt slaughter product cannot legally be resold — it's restricted to the animal owner's own household use. Poultry has its own narrower path: the FDACS Limited Poultry and Egg Farm Operation Permit lets small producers slaughter and process up to 20,000 birds they raised themselves each year, under USDA's federal exemption (P.L. 90-492), and sell the dressed poultry direct to consumers — packaging must carry the exact statement "Exempt P.L. 90-492."
What You Need
Red meat: USDA-inspected facility or Florida's retail exemption for a federally-inspected processor
Raw product labeled with USDA establishment number (or Florida equivalent), species/cut, net weight, and the federal Safe Handling Instructions statement
Watch Out For
Custom-exempt slaughter product cannot legally be resold — personal use only
Poultry sold under the small-farm exemption must be labeled "Exempt P.L. 90-492" and cannot be sold online
No cottage-food shortcut exists for meat of any kind, at any volume