Current through August 26, 2024
(1) ANNUAL LICENSE
REQUIRED. Except as provided in sub. (2), no person may operate a meat
establishment without a current annual license from the department. A license
expires on June 30 of each year. A person who operates more than one meat
establishment shall hold a current annual license for each meat establishment.
The license, for each licensed meat establishment conducting slaughter, shall
bear a livestock premises code issued under s.
ATCP 17.02(7). A license may not be
transferred between persons or meat establishments.
(2) LICENSE EXEMPTIONS. The license
requirement under sub. (1) does not apply to any of the following:
(a) Slaughter or processing operations
inspected by the United States department of agriculture under
21 USC
451 to
695.
(b) Mobile custom processing
operations.
(c) The custom
processing of captive game animals or captive game birds.
Note: Under s.
97.42(3),
Stats., the department provides ante mortem and post mortem inspection services
only to licensed meat establishments. According to federal law and s.
ATCP 55.04, captive game animals and captive game birds
must be slaughtered subject to ante mortem and post mortem inspection if they
are slaughtered for sale for human consumption. This slaughter
inspection requirement does not apply to the custom slaughter
of captive game animals or captive game birds.
(d) A person slaughtering and otherwise
processing poultry produced on that person's premises, provided that all the
following apply:
1. The person slaughters and
otherwise processes no more than 1,000 poultry annually.
2. The person slaughters, otherwise
processes, and sells the poultry at the premises where they are
produced.
3. The person clearly and
conspicuously labels each package or container of poultry meat with the
processor's name and address and the words "NOT INSPECTED."
Note: See s.
97.42(11),
Stats.
(e) A
retail food establishment licensed under s.
97.30(2),
Stats., that processes meat or poultry products primarily for sale to
individual consumers at the retail food establishment, provided that all the
following apply:
1. The retail food
establishment is not engaged in slaughter operations that are amenable to
inspection.
2. The retail food
establishment sells the processed meat or poultry products only to individual
consumers at the retail food establishment, or to hotels, restaurants, or
institutions for use in meals served at those hotels, restaurants, or
institutions.
3. The retail food
establishment's gross annual value of sales of its meat and poultry products to
hotels, restaurants, or institutions does not exceed the adjusted dollar limits
published by the United States department of agriculture in
9 CFR
303.1(d) (2) (iii) (b) and 9
CFR 381.10 (d) (2) (iii) (b) or 25% by dollar volume of all meat sales from the
retail establishment, whichever is less. No person exempt from licensure under
this paragraph may sell any cured, smoked, canned, or cooked meat or poultry
products produced by the person to hotels, restaurants, or
institutions.
4. The retail food
establishment receives meat only from meat establishments licensed under this
section or inspected by the United States department of agriculture under
21 USC
451 to
695.
5. The operator of the retail food
establishment does not sell, to any person other than an individual consumer,
any meat or poultry product that is cured, smoked, canned, or cooked at the
retail establishment.
6. The
operator of the retail food establishment does not sell, to any person other
than an individual consumer, any meat or poultry product made by combining meat
from different animal species at the retail establishment.
(f) A retail food establishment qualifying
for an exemption under
9 CFR
303.1(d) (2) (iv) (c) or (e)
(1) or 9 CFR 381.10 (d) (1) or (e)
(1).
(3) LICENSE
APPLICATION. A person shall apply for a meat establishment license on a form
provided by the department. The application shall include all the following:
(a) The applicant's correct legal name, and
any trade name under which the applicant proposes to operate a meat
establishment.
(b) The applicant's
social security number if the applicant is an individual.
Note: See s.
93.135(1) (nm), Stats.
(c) The address of each meat
establishment.
(d) For each meat
establishment, a proposed slaughter and processing schedule under sub. (12)
(a).
(dm) Additional information,
if any, required under s.
ATCP 17.02(4) for purposes of livestock
premises registration.
(e) Other
relevant information required by the department.
(f) The fees required under sub.
(4).
(4) LICENSE FEES. A
person shall pay an annual license fee for each licensed meat establishment as
follows:
(a) A person shall pay an annual
license fee of $80 if the person is solely engaged in custom processing
operations.
(b) A person shall pay
an annual license fee for each of the following activities up to a maximum of
$200:
1. $100 for processing cooked meat or
poultry products or processing shelf-stable uncooked meat or poultry
products.
2. $100 for the slaughter
of livestock, other than rabbits, and captive game animals.
3. $50 for processing not shelf stable
uncooked meat or poultry products.
4. $50 for the slaughter of poultry unless
exempt under s. ATCP 55.03(2) (d), ratites, and captive game birds.
5. $25 for the slaughter of more than 3,000
rabbits annually. A rabbit slaughter establishment shall be licensed except
there shall be no license fee for the slaughter of 3,000 or fewer rabbits
annually.
(5)
PRE-LICENSE INSPECTION. Before the department issues a license for a new meat
establishment, or issues a license to a new operator of an existing meat
establishment, the department shall inspect that meat establishment. The
department shall perform the inspection within 30 days after the operator
applies for the license, unless the applicant agrees to a later inspection
date.
Note: The department may inspect any meat
establishment, regardless of whether an inspection is required under sub.
(5).
(6) ACTION ON LICENSE
APPLICATION.
(a) Except as provided in par.
(b), the department shall grant or deny an annual meat establishment license
application within 30 days after the department receives a complete
application.
(b) If sub. (5)
requires a pre-license inspection, the department shall grant or deny the
license application within 30 days after the department performs that
inspection.
(c) If the department
denies a meat establishment license application, the department shall give the
applicant written notice of the reasons for that denial.
(7) DENYING, SUSPENDING OR REVOKING A
LICENSE. The department may deny, suspend or revoke a meat establishment
license for cause, as provided in ss.
93.06(7),
97.42(10) and
97.42(12),
Stats. Cause may include a violation of this chapter.
Note: The procedure for suspending or revoking a
license, or for contesting a license denial, is set forth in ch. ATCP 1.
(8) CONDITIONAL LICENSE. The
department may issue a meat establishment license subject to conditions, or may
impose conditions on an existing license, as provided in s.
93.06(8),
Stats.
Note: The procedure for imposing conditions on
an existing license, or for contesting license conditions, is set forth in ch.
ATCP 1.
(9) LICENSE
DISPLAYED. A person holding a meat establishment license shall display that
license in a prominent location at the licensed meat establishment.
(10) MEAT ESTABLISHMENT NUMBER. The
department shall assign, to each licensed meat establishment, a meat
establishment number that uniquely identifies that meat
establishment.
(11) PROCESSING WILD
GAME.
(a) Except as provided in par. (b), no
person may slaughter or otherwise process any animals other than food animals
at a meat establishment.
(b) A meat
establishment operator may custom process legally harvested wild game at a meat
establishment if all the following apply:
1.
The operator notifies the department that the operator plans to custom process
wild game at that meat establishment. Notice shall specify the type of wild
game to be processed. The department may restrict wild game processing that is
incompatible with the slaughter or processing of food animals.
2. The operator accepts only clean and
apparently unadulterated wild game carcasses for custom processing.
3. The operator, when custom processing wild
game, complies with processing, labeling, and record keeping requirements
applicable to the custom processing of food animals under s.
ATCP 55.08.
4.
The operator custom processes wild game only at times when the operator is not
engaged in slaughtering or processing food animals. The operator shall
thoroughly clean and sanitize equipment and utensils used to process wild game
before using the same equipment or utensils to slaughter food animals or
otherwise process food animals or the meat of food animals.
5. The operator keeps wild game and wild game
products separate from all other meat or poultry products in the meat
establishment.
6. The operator
clearly labels wild game products, so they cannot be confused with other meat
or poultry products. Wild game products shall be clearly identified by
species.
7. The operator handles,
processes, and stores wild game and wild game products in a manner that
prevents contamination of other meat or poultry products.
(12) SLAUGHTER AND OTHER
PROCESSING SCHEDULE.
(a) A person applying
for a meat establishment license shall include, with the license application, a
proposed schedule for slaughter and other processing. A meat establishment
operator need not include a schedule with a license renewal application if
there has been no change in the schedule last established for the meat
establishment under this subsection.
(b) A schedule under par. (a) shall specify
the days of each week, and the hours of each day, during which the applicant
proposes to engage in each of the following activities at the meat
establishment:
1. Slaughter food animals to
produce meat or poultry products for sale.
2. Process, by means other than slaughtering,
meat or poultry products for sale.
3. Custom slaughter food animals, or
otherwise custom process meat or poultry products.
4. Custom process wild game, as provided in
sub. (11).
(c) The
department may require a change in a schedule for slaughtering and other
processing under this subsection if any of the following apply:
1. A change is needed in order to make
slaughter inspection services available, or to make efficient use of the
department's slaughter inspection staff.
2. The operator proposes to process wild game
during times also scheduled for the slaughter or processing of food animals.
Note: Sub. (11) (b) 4. prohibits simultaneous
processing of wild game and food animals.
3. The operator proposes to engage in custom
slaughter or processing operations during times also scheduled for the
slaughter of food animals for sale, or the processing of meat for sale.
Note: A meat establishment operator may not
engage in custom slaughter or other custom processing operations while the
operator is simultaneously slaughtering food animals for sale, or
simultaneously otherwise processing the meat of food animals for sale. There
are exceptions for inspected custom operations, and for
simultaneous operations that are physically separated to prevent
cross-contamination and commingling. The department may disapprove a
simultaneous schedule if these exceptions do not apply. See s.
ATCP 55.08(3).
(d) A meat establishment operator may not
deviate from a schedule established under this subsection, without prior
written department approval.
