Text Size:

In This Section

Slaughterhouses

Food Protection Services oversees the issuance of Class A, Class B, and Class C licenses under the Meat Inspection Regulation of the BC Food Safety Act. Under this legislation, inspection services to provincially licensed Class A or B plant operations are managed by Food Protection Services through a contract agreement with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

In BC, all slaughterhouses are either federally registered meat plants with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency or are provincially licenced with the province. Provincially licenced Class A, B, or C meat plants are found throughout the province including the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, the Kootenays and Okanagan, as well as the North (map). Slaughterhouses which are federally registered are permitted to export their product to outside the province. Slaughterhouses which are provincially licenced are only permitted to sell their product within the province.

Map of Provincially Licensed Class A, B, and C Slaughter Establishments

Link to Ministry of Health
Interactive Maps of Provincially Licensed Slaughter Operations and Abbatoir Profiles

If you are interested in constructing a provincially licenced meat plant (Class A or B), there are a number of resources available that will aid you. While not complicated, it is a step by step process. The process for achieving provincial licensing of a Class A or B slaughter or meat processing establishment is outlined in the Protocol for Provincial Abattoir Assessments and Licencing. Before an application for licencing will be considered, the Application for Slaughter Establishment Assessment must first be completed. Once the assessment has been completed and is satisfactory, a detailed package of information must be submitted with the application for licence.

The guidelines provided here are not law. For legal requirements see the Meat Inspection Regulation. Guidelines are designed to provide guidance on how the outcomes identified in the Meat Inspection Regulation can be achieved. There may be alternative means of achieving those outcomes, and a license applicant may propose alternatives during the licensing process.

The information on these pages represent the work we do on behalf of the public, industry and government. Some of this information was written for the general public and some was written in technical language for public health.

Contact us:
Food Protection Services phone 604-707-2440

NCC Environmental Health phone 604-707-2445

Poison Control Centre phone 604-682-5050

or 1-800-567-8911