Michigan State University Dept of Animal Science

Michigan State University Department of Animal Science, doing business as MSU Meat Lab, is a USDA-inspected establishment at Anthony Hall, 474 S. Shaw Lane, Room 1358, East Lansing, Michigan, in Ingham County. It holds establishment numbers M10053 and P10053, with a grant of inspection dated September 9, 2014. FSIS lists the plant under four activities: meat slaughter, meat processing, poultry slaughter, and poultry processing.

The federal record reports slaughter of cattle, hogs, sheep and lamb, and poultry under inspection. FSIS classes the plant as very small and places it in slaughter volume category 1, meaning under 1,000 head per year. The establishment also reports custom-exempt processing and retail-exempt sales, two categories that in general cover work done for an animal's owner and direct sales to consumers, though the specific terms offered here are not described in the federal record.

The website on file resolves to Michigan State University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources pages covering college news, events, and contacts, and it does not contain meat lab operating details. Hours, pricing, booking practices, product lists, and retail arrangements are not yet on file beyond the federal record. Buyers and producers should contact the establishment directly at (517) 355-8452 to confirm what is offered and whether work is being accepted.

The federal record lists cattle, hogs, sheep and lamb, and poultry as species slaughtered under inspection, and the establishment reports custom-exempt processing in addition to its federal grant. That combination means a producer could in principle bring animals either for inspected slaughter, where the resulting meat may be sold, or for custom work returned to the owner for personal use. Scheduling practices, lead times, minimums, kill days, hanging and aging arrangements, cut and wrap options, and fees are not stated in any source on file. The plant is very small by FSIS size class and falls in the lowest slaughter volume category, under 1,000 head per year, so capacity is limited. Contact (517) 355-8452 to confirm species accepted and availability, as listed.

Michigan State University Dept of Animal Science reports custom-exempt processing 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 to FSIS, which indicates some direct-to-consumer sales activity at the location, but no source on file describes a retail counter, product selection, bundles, halves or quarters, online ordering, delivery, or shipping. Households interested in buying should call (517) 355-8452 to ask what is available and when.

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.