Rooney's meat shop LLC is a home-based custom exempt slaughterhouse and processing facility in rural northern maine

Rooney's Meat Shop LLC received a $195,000 Project Grant award from the US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service under the Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grants – Supplemental Funding program (CFDA 10.180). The grant funds will support upgrades to Rooney's newly constructed meat processing facility in Mapleton, ME to meet federal inspection standards. This will allow the facility to obtain a Federal Grant of Inspection, permitting inspection and sale of processed meats. Funds will cover costs for stainless steel equipment, sanitary surfaces, refrigeration, and packaging and labeling machinery. The grant will also provide technical assistance for food safety plans and labeling development. Completing these upgrades by the September 2024 completion date will enable Rooney's Meat Shop to provide inspected meat processing services for local growers in northern Maine.

The current facility cannot be expanded or cost effectively retrofitted to be compliant with fsis regulations because IT operates in the lower level of the rooney family residence. Unrelated to the mpirg, the owner has decided to purchase land nearby (purchase closing date IS8/6/2021), drill a well, install a septic system and build a larger facility in the summer 2022. The initial plan was to continue as a custom exempt facility for now and take the steps necessary to obtain a federal grant of inspection within five to seven years once the business has grown. With the possibility of a mpirg grant, that plan could be accelerated to three years which would address the need for an inspected facility in far northern maine which local growers are seeking because itis the growers who sell the processed meat to customers. The nearest inspected facility is 1.5 hours south of mapleton. Grant money will be utilized to upgrade the newly constructed facility to meet the requirements to obtain a federal grant of inspection. This will include things like vinyl wall and ceiling surfaces, stainless steel rail systems and other product moving equipment, polyethylene cutting tables, inspected scales, air curtains, packaging and labeling equipment and refrigeration equipment. Grant funds will also be utilized for technical assistance with sanitation SOP, a haccp plan and developing product labeling.