Exemption of Retail Operations from Inspection Requirements

The Food Safety and Inspection Service is advising interested persons that, in determining whether an establishment is a retail store or restaurant or a similar retail-type establishment that is exempt from requirements for inspection under the Federal Meat Inspection Act or the Poultry Products Inspection Act, the Agency will not consider sales of products that simply ``pass through'' the establishment without any processing or handling other than storage and activities incidental to storage. The effect of this interpretation is to exclude the value of those products in deciding whether, under the Agency's regulations, sales to hotels, restaurants, and similar institutions disqualify the establishment from exemption as a retail store. The Agency is providing an opportunity to comment on its interpretation in advance of upcoming rulemaking on the exemption of retail operations from inspection requirements.