Mississippi direct-to-consumer compliance, guide 15 of 24

Meats

Selling meat needs inspection; custom-exempt processing is for the owner, not for sale.

Licensed Facility Required
1,000birds per year under the small poultry exemption
20,000birds per year with MDAC license
Not for Salestamp on custom-exempt meat
0meat items allowed under cottage food

What is covered

  • Inspected meat from an MDAC or USDA inspected plant
  • Live animals sold before slaughter, then custom processed for the owner
  • Poultry you raised under the 1,000 or 20,000 bird exemption

Needs a different path

  • Selling custom-exempt meat (it must be stamped Not for Sale)
  • Selling meat or poultry under cottage food
  • Selling exempt poultry at farmers markets

Three compliance steps

  1. A

    Choose a path

    Inspected plant for retail meat; custom-exempt for animals the buyer owns; or the poultry grower exemption for birds you raised.

  2. B

    Complete the sale first

    For custom beef, pork, lamb or goat, the animal must be sold before slaughter, and buyers may inspect and choose it.

  3. C

    Label and keep records

    Exempt poultry is labeled Exempt from Inspection. Keep slaughter, purchase and sales records.

Quick reference

ItemRuleRegulator
Custom-exempt red meatOwner buys live animal first; meat stamped Not for Sale; not resoldMDAC Meat Inspection
Retail red meatMust be slaughtered and processed in an inspected plantMDAC / USDA FSIS
Poultry, 1,000 birdUp to 1,000 healthy birds you raised per year; label Exempt from InspectionMDAC
Poultry, 20,000 birdMDAC annual license, compliant building, site visitMDAC
Exempt poultry salesNot for farmers markets or commerce; those birds must be inspectedMDAC
RecordsSlaughter, bird purchase and sales recordsMDAC

Common questions

Can I sell a share of a steer?

You sell the live animal, not the meat. The buyer must own it before slaughter, and the packages stay stamped Not for Sale.

Can I sell pasture-raised chickens at a market?

Not under the exemption. MDAC says poultry sold into commerce or at farmers markets must be inspected.

Does cottage food cover jerky or sausage?

No. Meat is on the unapproved cottage list.

Printable checklist