As part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' initiative, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) today announced the availability of the compliance guide for mobile slaughter units. This document presents recommendations and is not a regulatory requirement.

"USDA is excited to offer this help to small producers and encourages establishments that own or manage mobile slaughter units to use this guidance document to help meet food safety regulatory requirements," said Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety Jerold R. Mande. "Food must be safe, regardless of where it is produced, and FSIS has worked with mobile unit operators to develop inspection procedures tailored to their needs."

A mobile slaughter unit is a self-contained slaughter facility that can travel from site to site. Mobile slaughter units can help producers meet consumer demand for locally grown and specialty products and can serve multiple small producers in areas where slaughter services might be unaffordable or otherwise unavailable. Therefore, mobile slaughter units can help small producers expand their businesses and create wealth in rural communities. Currently, there are five FSIS-inspected red meat mobile slaughter units in the United States.

To learn more about this program, link here.