Rearing and selling your own meat

[browny823]

i know it's probably been discussed lots before but thinking of selling my own meat from my farm bussiness to the public and my friend as he has a mobile bbq bussiness. the butchers chops it all up I'm just seeing what I need to do to stay legal .thanks all

 

[Mow]

i know it's probably been discussed lots before but thinking of selling my own meat from my farm bussiness to the public and my friend as he has a mobile bbq bussiness. the butchers chops it all up I'm just seeing what I need to do to stay legal .thanks all

Assuming your butcher is vacuum packing it you will just need an inspection from trading standards to look at how and where you are storing it,there are label requirements,also check your insurance,thats about it

 

[landslave the 2nd]

Ask @Old Boar ,

 

[Old Boar]

If you are taking your own stock to slaughter and a registered butcher is cutting and packing, you only have to prove you are storing it in a safe environment (EHO), and have a HACCUP in place (a record of what could go wrong and how you make sure nothing does, and record it all) and what you are selling is what you produced, is accurately weighted and the right information is on the label (Trading Standards/Weights and Measures). It is unlikely that your butcher will label with your trade name so you may have to invest in a printer (thermal or the ink runs). Hiring them is a good idea - I paid around a £1 a day and the upkeep was down to them.
https://www.gov.uk/food-labelling-and-packaging/overview

Anything else, just ask.

 

[Dr. Alkathene]

Make a facebook page and promote what you are selling on it. Put a link to it on here, I am running low on venison.

 

[Greenbeast]

We decided early on to start using professionally printed labels, sausage pack sleeves and leaflets, etc...
We were lucky to have our logo/artwork done by a graphic artist friend before we got going properly

Sets you apart from the rest.

 

[davieh3350]

@browny823 how is your meat selling going?

 

[browny823]

Why do you want some haha it's ok

 

[davieh3350]

Why do you want some haha it's ok

No ta, it grows wild here
just curious to see how others go about selling.
2 bullocks killed today, got to start finding homes for it all for when it comes back in a month

 

[Gatehouse Farm]

If you are taking your own stock to slaughter and a registered butcher is cutting and packing, you only have to prove you are storing it in a safe environment (EHO), and have a HACCUP in place (a record of what could go wrong and how you make sure nothing does, and record it all) and what you are selling is what you produced, is accurately weighted and the right information is on the label (Trading Standards/Weights and Measures). It is unlikely that your butcher will label with your trade name so you may have to invest in a printer (thermal or the ink runs). Hiring them is a good idea - I paid around a £1 a day and the upkeep was down to them.
https://www.gov.uk/food-labelling-and-packaging/overview

Anything else, just ask.

Where about did you hire from @Old Boar ? Do,they only hire out printers or other equipment also?

 

[Old Boar]

Jim Scales- but he only covers West Wales, sorry. You could try getting in touch with Avery and see if they have a local rep. Or go to your local market and ask around - I know on our local market, nearly everyone had Jim's scales.

 

[butcher]

Any body need any thing doing, cattle ,sheep and pigs kill and cut or just kill, we can accommodate a multitude of requests apart from religious slaughter. rare breed pigs can be accommodated (we can get the hair off). some abattoirs struggle with that. just give us a ring 01480 860242 or check out our web site www.Hellettsbutchers.co.uk or if you need some scales Frys scales Duxford Cambridge they are good

 

[Treg]

Just thought I'd bump this thread as I'm sure there's a lot of us under pressure atm & probably thinking about selling our own beed / lamb.
Couple of questions, do you have to pay for the trading standards licence? Slaughter costs? Packaging costs?

 

[davieh3350]

I think getting sales people who take a commission to sell on our behalf would be a smart thing. Let them do the work of finding the markets.
I've put my enterprise on hold until I can set up a cutting place for my own stuff, going to look at getting them killed on the farm too. It's 75 miles to the closest slaughterhouse (cows and pigs, no sheep) and god only knows how far to the processing places that you could afford. Just not worth it now. I was £800 to £1000 a head better off (rough calculations) by selling it direct. That's taking into account the killing and packing costs at the time.

 

[borderterribles]

Just thought I'd bump this thread as I'm sure there's a lot of us under pressure atm & probably thinking about selling our own beed / lamb.
Couple of questions, do you have to pay for the trading standards licence? Slaughter costs? Packaging costs?

We do this with our own Pork and dairy bred bulls/steers.
There isn't a cost to the actual Trading Standards and Environmental Health Officer bit, but having facilities that they will sign off can involve considerable investment.

 

[borderterribles]

I think getting sales people who take a commission to sell on our behalf would be a smart thing. Let them do the work of finding the markets.
I've put my enterprise on hold until I can set up a cutting place for my own stuff, going to look at getting them killed on the farm too. It's 75 miles to the closest slaughterhouse (cows and pigs, no sheep) and god only knows how far to the processing places that you could afford. Just not worth it now. I was £800 to £1000 a head better off (rough calculations) by selling it direct. That's taking into account the killing and packing costs at the time.

Not sure about the rules and regs in Furthest Jockland, but on farm slaughter for anything but the owner's, and his or her household's consumption, is illegal in England. Definitely no selling it.

 

[davieh3350]

Not sure about the rules and regs in Furthest Jockland, but on farm slaughter for anything but the owner's, and his or her household's consumption, is illegal in England. Definitely no selling it.

times they are a changing. They're looking at mobile slaughter units up here.

 

[Treg]

I think getting sales people who take a commission to sell on our behalf would be a smart thing. Let them do the work of finding the markets.
I've put my enterprise on hold until I can set up a cutting place for my own stuff, going to look at getting them killed on the farm too. It's 75 miles to the closest slaughterhouse (cows and pigs, no sheep) and god only knows how far to the processing places that you could afford. Just not worth it now. I was £800 to £1000 a head better off (rough calculations) by selling it direct. That's taking into account the killing and packing costs at the time.

That's quite abit better off per head, nearest slaughter house to here is 15 miles & 100,000 customers living in between.

 

[Treg]

We do this with our own Pork and dairy bred bulls/steers.
There isn't a cost to the actual Trading Standards and Environmental Health Officer bit, but having facilities that they will sign off can involve considerable investment.

What facilities would you need if it was already vacuum packed? Storage & freezer?

 

[davieh3350]

What facilities would you need if it was already vacuum packed? Storage & freezer?

I got a walk in chiller for 500 quid. Don't think you're allowed to freeze fresh stuff yourself, needs to be done quick.
I have to admit that I did it all without any form of paperwork (killed and packed professionally (apart from the last 12 pigs due to no butchers to do it))
Stopped people walking by and sold it to them out the back of the welding rig in cool boxes. Asked one guy what he did. Ex chief inspector of the CID in Glasgow..
Never lost any punters.