How to read the EST number on meat and poultry packaging
Federally inspected meat, poultry, and egg products must carry the USDA mark of inspection (9 CFR 312 for meat, 9 CFR 381 subpart M for poultry). The mark is round on meat products and shield-shaped on poultry, and inside it is the establishment number of the plant that produced or last processed the product under inspection. On meat it reads EST. 1234; on poultry, P-1234. Some plants add a suffix letter (EST. 1234A), which FSIS treats as a distinct establishment.
Where the number sits
Look for the mark near the product name, the net weight, or on the lid or end panel of a package. On shelf-packed items the mark may be printed on the label; on bulk cases it is stamped on the box. If the mark is missing but the product was federally inspected, the number is sometimes printed on its own as "EST" or "P" followed by digits, usually next to the lot or date code.
What the prefix letters mean
- M - meat grant of inspection (the number shown as EST. in the round mark).
- P - poultry grant of inspection (shown as P- in the shield mark).
- G - egg products grant.
- I - official import establishment (re-inspects imported meat, poultry, and egg products).
- V - voluntary, fee-based inspection (bison, rabbit, and other species outside the mandatory acts).
A plant with more than one grant has more than one number; FSIS's directory joins them with a plus sign (M1234+P1234). The digits are often the same across a plant's grants but do not have to be.
Why the plant is not the brand
The number identifies the physical establishment. Co-packers produce for many brands, and national brands use many plants, so two different labels can share a number and one label can carry several. When FSIS announces a recall it therefore names the establishment number, the product descriptions, and the lot or date codes ("bears establishment number EST. 1234 inside the USDA mark of inspection"), and the number on your package is the fastest way to check whether a notice applies to it.
Looking a number up
Type the digits into the Recall Bench establishment lookup: it lists the plant's name, city and state, the activities under its grant of inspection, its FSIS size class, and every FSIS recall notice since 2014 that names its number. The directory covers federally inspected establishments only. Plants under a state inspection program stamp a state mark with their own numbering, and custom-exempt plants use no mark at all.
See also: current USDA-FSIS recalls · recall classes explained · what to do with a recalled product
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