Meat and Poultry Inspection Program
Meat and Poultry Inspection is a cooperative state-federal program. Inspectors protect consumers by regulation, including inspection, labeling and disposition of animals, poultry, carcasses and meat and poultry products sold through commercial outlets for human consumption. Staff inspect and license commercial and custom slaughterhouses (which process animals for an individual and his or her family's personal use, not for retail sale) and processing facilities located in Kansas. USDA periodically verifies that our program is at least equal to the federal meat inspection program.
At fully inspected facilities, inspection staff inspect every animal while it is still alive and after slaughter to ensure no sign of disease is missed. Inspectors allow only healthy carcasses to be marked with the Kansas Department of Agriculture inspection legend before they enter the food supply. Sound scientific principles guide processing inspection each day to ensure products leaving the facilities are safe. Inspection ensures that all areas and equipment in the plants are clean, sanitary and properly maintained when the daily work begins. All ingredients and steps in the preparation of meat and poultry products are inspected for quality, freshness and compliance with national standards. Samples of finished products also are taken regularly to monitor compliance with national standards of identity and composition. Labels must be approved and used on all finished products.
The program also employs compliance officers who review stores, restaurants, distributors and warehouses to ensure products being sold have been inspected, are being stored properly and have not been adulterated or contaminated after leaving the packing plant. These employees also investigate consumer complaints.
This program provides continuous inspection of 64 commercial slaughter and processing facilities, as well as periodic inspection of 31 custom plants. Fully inspected slaughter establishments, custom slaughter plants, inspected processors, custom processors and distributors are licensed by the Kansas Department of Agriculture.
The Meat and Poultry program is committed to ensuring the civil rights of all customers and employees, for more information visit the Non-Discrimination Statement.