University of Florida Meat Lab

The University of Florida Meat Lab, also referred to as the University of Florida Meat Processing Center, operates at Bldg 459, 2250 Shealy Drive in Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida. It holds federal establishment numbers M6537 and P6537, with a grant of inspection date on file of July 16, 2021. FSIS records list activities in meat slaughter, meat processing, poultry slaughter, and poultry processing, and classify the plant as very small.

Species slaughtered under inspection, as reported to FSIS, are cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb. The plant's reported slaughter volume category is 1, meaning under 1,000 head per year. The establishment also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which animals owned by the customer are processed and the packages are marked Not for Sale, and it reports retail-exempt sales.

No website text was available for this record. A UF/IFAS Animal Sciences page and a Facebook page under the name UF Meat Science are associated with the establishment, and one Facebook post refers to being open and stocked from 9 to 4, but scheduling, pricing, cut and wrap options, and product lists are not on file. Details beyond the federal record are not yet confirmed here.

FSIS records list this establishment as slaughtering cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb under inspection, with poultry slaughter and processing activities also on file. It reports custom-exempt slaughter, so a producer can have their own animals processed with packages marked Not for Sale. Reported slaughter volume falls in the under 1,000 head per year category, and the plant is classed as very small, so capacity is limited. Booking procedures, lead times, minimums, fees, and cut and wrap options are not stated in the sources on file. Producers should contact the plant at (352) 392-1921 to confirm whether work is being scheduled.

University of Florida Meat Lab reports custom-exempt slaughter to FSIS, which means it can process an animal a customer already owns (a whole, half, or share bought before slaughter) and return it in packages marked Not for Sale. Most small farms have one or two plants they book with, and the plant's calendar decides the delivery date.

The establishment reports retail-exempt sales, which indicates sales of product directly to household buyers at the plant. A Facebook page under the name UF Meat Science includes a post about being open and fully stocked from 9 to 4, but no product list, bundle or half and quarter offerings, delivery, shipping, or online ordering details are stated in the sources on file.

If you are buying a half or quarter animal, the plant is where the animal is processed; the farm sells you the animal. Read how to buy a half cow for the sequence and the math.