08/31/2026
With hunting season here, this is something I explain to disappointed callers multiple times a day.
Also, no, we are not allowed to by law give it away either.
When we first started this business, I was not familiar with the CFRs and gave away fat and bones just to help the community out and get rid of them.
This triggered a USDA inspection and red taping of my freezer, (triggered by a neighbor’s complaint), and now that I know, I am not willing to ever go down that road again.
We are subject to random USDA FSIS inspectors who check our freezers for product that isn’t tracible back to the original owner.
Therefore, I do not have a freezer full of fat to distribute, even though we process these animals.
This is routinely very disappointing to people who call and honestly frustrating for us in the custom exempt industry.
Even though we are left with the byproducts, we are not allowed to do anything with them by law.
The only way to do anything with our byproducts by law to becoming a licensed renderer. Currently, I only know of one in the entire state.
If there was only one regulatory change in the custom exempt vs inspected world that would benefit us and our local consumers, I think it should be that if a customer declines keeping byproducts such as the fat, organs, and bones, they could go back to the farmer or are now in our possession and thus now are the farmers or ours to distribute or give away.
That is a policy / processing relaxation that could benefit our local industry, distribution, community, and byproduct disposal choke point.
However, because we do not have a federal inspector on site when we slaughter, we are not allowed to retain or distribute the byproducts.
Therefore, answer is NO ….
I do not sell or give away fat. 
Would I like to? Yes.
Are my hands tied by the USDA? Yes.
