Selling Beef to Restaurants and Retailers
Requirements can change and individual circumstances differ. Always verify current requirements with the Government of Alberta, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and other applicable authorities before selling or distributing meat.
Selling beef to a restaurant, butcher shop, grocery store or other food business can create a valuable market for a farm. It also changes the supply relationship from a simple direct-to-household sale.
Use commercially eligible beef
Beef supplied into Alberta’s commercial food system must come through the appropriate inspected slaughter and processing route.
Private-use uninspected meat is not a substitute for commercially inspected beef.
Ask the buyer what they require
Commercial buyers may have requirements beyond the minimum rules applying to the producer.
They may request information about:
- processor and inspection status
- product labels
- lot or traceability information
- delivery temperatures
- packaging
- insurance
- production claims
- consistent product specifications
Consistency becomes more important
A restaurant may need steaks of predictable size or regular delivery volumes. A retailer may require packages and labels suitable for its sales model.
A processor’s standard farm-direct package may not automatically match a restaurant or retailer’s operational requirements.
Keep production claims supportable
If the buyer markets your beef using claims about feed, hormones, antibiotics or organic production, make sure the information supplied to them is accurate and can be substantiated where required.
Crossing a provincial border changes the question
If the restaurant, retailer, distributor or other buyer is outside Alberta, federal interprovincial trade requirements may apply.
- Government of Alberta – Alberta Meat Inspection System
- CFIA – Meat and Poultry Product Labelling
- CFIA – Method of Production Claims
Last reviewed: September 2026.