This bill provides statutory authority for expanding the personal use exemption from inspection requirements for livestock that are slaughtered and prepared by the owner or at custom animal slaughter facilities for meat products intended for personal consumption.

Under current law, the personal use exemption from certain Food Safety and Inspection Service meat inspection requirements applies to a person who raises an animal and slaughters the animal exclusively for personal, household, guest, or employee uses.

The bill applies the exemption to any person who meets these requirements and is the owner of an animal, in whole or in part. This allows for an animal to have multiple owners (e.g., a community or a group of people buying shares in livestock).

Further, the owner may designate an agent to assist in the slaughter, preparation, or transportation of the carcasses (or parts thereof) or meat and meat food products. If the owner designates an agent, the owner must maintain custody and specific identification of the carcasses or meat.