FDA or USDA: when meat or poultry changes the rules

The thresholds

Products with more than 3 percent raw meat, or 2 percent or more cooked meat or poultry, fall under USDA FSIS rather than FDA¹. The same thresholds appear in FSIS's 2007 notice on flavor products, which noted that some makers of products with 30 to 70 percent meat did not realize they were under FSIS jurisdiction².

Examples

• A vegetarian chili is an FDA product.
• A beef chili with more than 3 percent raw beef is a USDA product.
• A chicken bone broth is a borderline case. Check it with the plant and your process authority before you price it.
• Shell eggs are FDA. Liquid, frozen and dried egg products are USDA, and catfish moved to USDA in 2016¹.

What changes for the plant

A USDA plant operates under a grant of inspection and an establishment number, with inspectors on site during operations. Labels with special claims need pre-approval, typically a 5 to 10 day wait¹. If the product also needs a scheduled process, it can cost more: Cornell lists $150 for New York clients and $300 for others for a meat product³.

How to check a plant

FSIS publishes every establishment it inspects in its Meat, Poultry and Egg Product Inspection Directory, updated weekly and downloadable⁴. The USDA filter in this directory shows plants that state FSIS inspection on their own websites. Confirm the establishment number in the FSIS directory before you sign.

27 of the 245 plants in this directory state USDA FSIS inspection on their own websites. See them in the directory.

Sources

1. OFW Law, FDA vs USDA: Who Regulates What (2026) (Law firm)
2. Federal Register, FSIS Jurisdiction Over Flavor Products Containing Meat or Poultry (2007) (Government)
3. Cornell Food Venture Center, Services and Fees (University)
4. USDA FSIS, Meat, Poultry and Egg Product Inspection Directory (Government)