Horse Slaughter May Soon Operate in the U.S.</

Mar 01, 2013

USDA May Approve Horse Slaughter Plant in New Mexico, First Time Since 2007

Within the next two months, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be making a decision on whether or not to approve a horse slaughter plant in New Mexico. While this decision is likely to go through, this will be the first time since 2007 that the U.S. would be allowing horse meat for human consumption to be produced in the United States.

A number of companies have been putting pressure on the agriculture department to re-establish inspection of horses for slaughter. The pending approval comes in the midst of the horse meat scandal that’s impacted 14 countries. If this proposal goes through, this will be the first time in six years that horse slaughter will operate in the U.S. The last plant that slaughtered horsemeat for human consumption shut its doors in 2007, after Congress approved an appropriations bill that included a rider forbidding the USDA from financing the inspection of horsemeat. This rider was renewed a number of times until 2001, when Congress removed it from the spending act.

Video: What Does 20 MILLION Hogs a Year Look Like?

?? The Multi-Plant System Processing 20 Million Hogs Annually in the Midwest JBS USA operates multiple large-scale pork processing facilities across the Midwest, including major plants in Iowa, Minnesota, and Indiana. Combined, these facilities have the capacity to process approximately 20 million hogs annually.

Each plant operates high-speed automated slaughter systems capable of processing up to 20,000 head per day, followed by fabrication lines that break carcasses into primals, sub-primals, and case-ready retail products.

Hog procurement is coordinated through electronic marketing platforms that connect regional contract finishing operations and independent producers to plant demand schedules. This digital procurement system allows for steady supply flow and scheduling efficiency across multiple facilities.

Processing plants incorporate comprehensive food safety systems, including pathogen intervention technologies, rapid chilling processes, and integrated cold-chain management. USDA inspection is embedded throughout the harvest and fabrication stages to ensure regulatory compliance and product integrity. Finished pork products — from bulk primals to retail-ready packaged cuts — are distributed through coordinated logistics networks serving domestic and export markets.