Who inspects wild game meat?
Surprisingly, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is not required to inspect wild game meats. The inspection of most traditional meats in the U.S. is regulated by the “Federal Meat Act” and the “Federal Poultry Act.” Within these acts, specific meats such as beef, pork, and chicken are named as “amenable” to inspection by the USDA. It is illegal to offer these meats for sale in interstate commerce without USDA inspection. Meat can also be inspected by a state agency such as the state department of agriculture or the state department of health. State inspected meat can be legally sold within that state only. Confusion arises from the fact that most wild game meats are not named in the Federal Meat Act. These “non amenable” meats are not even considered “meat” by the USDA under their interpretation of the Federal Meat Act. This leaves the requirement for inspection of wild game meats in a vague regulatory “never-never land” as far as federal laws are concerned. In theory, the U.S.
