Regulations for Meat Products and Pet Food

California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA) requires licensing of businesses, including retail food establishments, that make meat products for sale only direct to consumer.
Note: meat products sold for resale must be made at a USDA inspected facility.

Applies to: Meat products defined below that are made in retail food facilities including restaurants and grocery stores and sold ONLY direct to consumer.

Meat products requiring state licensing include any of the following:

• Made with preservatives (potassium or sodium nitrate – so called ‘pink powder’)
• Cured, Dried, Smoked or Rendered

Meat includes: beef, lamb, pork, goat and poultry.

Establishments making these products must be licensed by CDFA and must have a Processing Inspector on site when the product is being made. Product formulation and label must be approved (part of application process). Licensed establishments will have a certificate from CDFA posted on site.

Links:

• Procedure for Obtaining State Meat or Poultry Inspection for meat processing establishments
• Meat Processing Establishment application $500 renewed annually
• Processing Inspector application $100 renewed annually – requires training initially as well as annual maintenance training, all trainings are conducted by CDFA
• Processing Inspector Training Manual

Pet food ingredients of animal or poultry used must come from an approved source (USDA inspected, state licensed pet food slaughter facility or approved import).

Incubator reject eggs may be used for animal food or animal-food products.

Fresh or Frozen Meat Pet Food

Foods that are fresh or frozen meat must be licensed by California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA) and made in a commercial kitchen. Fresh or frozen pet food manufacturing is only taking big pieces of meat and making them smaller.

See Raw Fresh or Frozen Meat Pet Food

Processed Pet Food

These products must be licensed by California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and made in a commercial kitchen. California processed pet food regulation also known as Pure Pet Food Act of 1969.

Processed pet food is a chemically changed product (e.g. cooked, dehydrated). These products include canned, kibble, supplements, treats and so on.

CDPH License:

• Procedures for Obtaining a Pet Food Processor License or Registration
• Pet Food Processor License/Registration Application $254 renewed every two years.

Collaboration

This fact sheet was reviewed for accuracy by the Supervising Meat Inspector of CDFA Meat Poultry & Egg Safety division, July 2016.