According to the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA):
- Requires a Food Establishment/Retail Meat Sales Permit and TDA inspection (T.C.A. § 53-8-207). Permit must be posted where meat sales occur.
- Permit is acceptable for “retail meat sale” only, Product sold for the purpose of resale to restaurants, grocery stores or other retail outlets will be regulated by USDA.
- Animals must be processed at a USDA inspected facility which is credentialed for the animal to be processed; Meat must be processed, packaged and labeled at the USDA facility
- Labels to be approved by on site USDA personnel and at a minimum must include name of product, complete address of individual offering meat for sale and net weight Lot/code numbers are recommended. Other information under weights and measures is required Meat items are sold by weight reflected in a price per pound. The price per pound, the total weight and the total price is required to be on the label.
- Meat must be transported in a secure manner- a freezer or refrigerator operated by inverter is acceptable
- Cooler/refrigerator/freezer units used for the storage or transportation of meats must be cleanable, kept clean and in good repair
- Storage in cooler/refrigerator/freezer(s) units dedicated for the meat offered for sale and is (are) located in a secure area away from potential sources of contamination and accessible for inspection by TDA. Thermometers are required in coolers/refrigerators to verify temperatures of storage,
- All poultry meat must be stored in a separate cooler/refrigerator/freezer to prevent cross contamination with meats of other species unless all such stored meat is received and maintained hard frozen,
- No re-freezing of product, if the product is acquired frozen from the processor it must be maintained in a frozen state from the processing facility to the consumer- refrigerated product must be maintained under 41F from the processing facility to the consumer.
- Hands and outer clothing must be kept clean when handling meat being offered for sale.
- Records of animal source and place consumer purchased should be maintained for traceability purposes.
*Regulations are subject to change and it is the responsibility of the vendor to make sure that they remain compliant and up-to-date. During the application process copies of applicable permits will be requested. For further information please visit.Tennessee Department of Agriculture - TN.gov
Farm Raised Meat is subject to our insurance requirements.