Hi has anyone setup a small home butchery game dealer business
- Thread starter Banksy007
- Start date
lochty
Well-Known Member
Banksy007
Active Member
Sorry are you advising I contact @roaring_stag ?
Yes and no. Butchery and game dealer are quite different; the latter allowing you to buy in carcasses from others and much more onerous as far as regs go.. Several of us on here sell venison through small businesses, but only what we shoot. Lots of previous threads on setting up but it's quite simple. My thoughts and sure others will add:
- I avoid mail order - wastage can be quite high so you need decent volumes to offset the ones that get written off when the courier loses them or leaves them on the doorstep in the sun.
- All mine goes direct to local butchers, farm shops of general public. I created the market locally as a way to move venison as there are no local dealers.
- I supply a mix of in skin, skinned and fully butchered depending on the customer.
- First step is register as a food business with your local authority - read and digest Wild Game Guide as that is the main document they'll inspect you against.
- Write a HACCP - some templates knocking around on here.
- Keep good records, cull data but also temp logging etc in your chiller.
Banksy007
Active Member
right I think I've got it now thank you. I am in agreement with you on the wastage side. I am also looking at only suppling my own deer not bringing deer in. It sounds like im in much the same situation as you, local pubs, butch and the surrounding villages who want to purchase the product the demand is increasing, which is good. Once I'm register as a food business can I then process from fur to end user business/public? DSC1 was some years back now 
thank you for hall your input, its really appreciated.
thank you for hall your input, its really appreciated.
You need to read the wild game guide as different scenarios have slightly different requirements - note "wild game" and "wild game meat" are different classifications in the guide. Do I need to Register as a Food Business - simple guideright I think I've got it now thank you. I am in agreement with you on the wastage side. I am also looking at only suppling my own deer not bringing deer in. It sounds like im in much the same situation as you, local pubs, butch and the surrounding villages who want to purchase the product the demand is increasing, which is good. Once I'm register as a food business can I then process from fur to end user business/public? DSC1 was some years back now
thank you for hall your input, its really appreciated.
roaring_stag
Well-Known Member
Banksy.... happy to have a chat with you on the phone on this.... PM me with your details if you like?
RS
RS
Banksy007
Active Member
thank you detail sent
there was an excellent thread on here a few weeks back which is worth a read if you are considering setting up
and you would do well to read more posts in legal issues forum by @Quixote and @VSS who both know the ins and outs of doing this and often point people to the rules who ask how to set up
Had enough of bureaucracy
Banksy007
Active Member
Thanks for this, looks like the reading is piling up. Im based is surrey and my local Borough is a bit of a a pain, Ill definitely go though this thread and look for other, as much info I can glean that batter .there was an excellent thread on here a few weeks back which is worth a read if you are considering setting up
and you would do well to read more posts in legal issues forum by @Quixote and @VSS who both know the ins and outs of doing this and often point people to the rules who ask how to set up
Had enough of bureaucracy
Done it. For the last three years I've been trying my hardest to make it work, and its about broken me.
Packing it in was the best part of it, to be honest.
Happy to offer advice on specifics if you like though?
And if you're looking for a sausage stuffer I might know a guy who has one for sale
Packing it in was the best part of it, to be honest.
Happy to offer advice on specifics if you like though?
And if you're looking for a sausage stuffer I might know a guy who has one for sale
Banksy007
Active Member
ooo eerr sounds rudeDone it. For the last three years I've been trying my hardest to make it work, and its about broken me.
Packing it in was the best part of it, to be honest.
Happy to offer advice on specifics if you like though?
And if you're looking for a sausage stuffer I might know a guy who has one for sale
... I would like a little advise though, more info positive or negative would be helpful-Don't under-price
-Don't bother selling to retail
-Don't bother with joints
-Add as much value as you can (sausage, burger, trimmed loin, etc)
-Don't sell outwith planned events without a minimum order value (or you'll end up hanging around for someone to turn up who wants a single pack of sausage
)-Buy a good knife sharpener!
-Buy a chamber vacuum packer
-Keep good records of ingredients (I kept the labels and receipts for butchers pork shoulder that I used in my sausages too)
-Mince and dice always sells well
-Be extra diligent with labelling
Probably more, but my brain hurts enough for the time being
-Don't under-price
-Don't bother selling to retail
-Don't bother with joints
-Add as much value as you can (sausage, burger, trimmed loin, etc)
-Don't sell outwith planned events without a minimum order value (or you'll end up hanging around for someone to turn up who wants a single pack of sausage
-Buy a good knife sharpener!
-Buy a chamber vacuum packer
-Keep good records of ingredients (I kept the labels and receipts for butchers pork shoulder that I used in my sausages too)
-Mince and dice always sells well
-Be extra diligent with labelling
Probably more, but my brain hurts enough for the time being
What he says
Banksy007
Active Member
Yep I'm going to keep it basic with limited product including carcass for a few pub and restaurants that prefer to butcher themselves. It's the issue of getting to the point where I can supply it, I have the demand which is a start though. The hard work and confusion is getting compliment so I can legally supply.-Don't under-price
-Don't bother selling to retail
-Don't bother with joints
-Add as much value as you can (sausage, burger, trimmed loin, etc)
-Don't sell outwith planned events without a minimum order value (or you'll end up hanging around for someone to turn up who wants a single pack of sausage
-Buy a good knife sharpener!
-Buy a chamber vacuum packer
-Keep good records of ingredients (I kept the labels and receipts for butchers pork shoulder that I used in my sausages too)
-Mince and dice always sells well
-Be extra diligent with labelling
Probably more, but my brain hurts enough for the time being
So my experience is different to Quixote but a) I'm in England (rules are slightly different) and b) I'll be completely honest - I don't do this just to make money!
For me, this is all about moving carcasses to allow me to shoot deer. All I shoot are reds and they are big lowland buggers. We have no gamedealer locally and most of my permission has been gained on the basis of my ability to move carcasses. "one for the pot" doesn't cut it with big groups of 30+ red hanging out on farmland.
Hence, my ability to move carcasses is more important than maximising value for them. Thankfully, I have a decent paid main income so deer money is a nice perk rather than a necessity for me - a privileged position which I am more than well aware of. But it does highlight that different folk have different drivers for doing this and it will impact how you go about running your business.
My routes to market:
This is the easy bit - honestly! PM if you want a chat but it really is simple. I'll dig out another old thread in a min which should help...
For me, this is all about moving carcasses to allow me to shoot deer. All I shoot are reds and they are big lowland buggers. We have no gamedealer locally and most of my permission has been gained on the basis of my ability to move carcasses. "one for the pot" doesn't cut it with big groups of 30+ red hanging out on farmland.
Hence, my ability to move carcasses is more important than maximising value for them. Thankfully, I have a decent paid main income so deer money is a nice perk rather than a necessity for me - a privileged position which I am more than well aware of. But it does highlight that different folk have different drivers for doing this and it will impact how you go about running your business.
My routes to market:
- I sell whole carcasses at game dealer rates to butchers, farm shops and restaurants. I charge a few quid if they want them skinned but get a min £2/kg all season. I work on a waiting list so my customers message "I'm ready for another one when you get one" and I normally run at a slight backlog - currently waiting list for 6 for August!
- I sell venison boxes to general public - I use a local trade butcher who cuts and packs for me. It would be cheaper to butcher myself (and I sometimes do) but I'm slow and would rather stick to the bits I'm good at and pay him a few quid for the bit he does well. I've found £100 is the sweet spot that folk are happy to pay and adjust weight in box accordingly. There is a mix of cuts in there from dice to fillet so I'm not left with anything and I don't sell individual cuts. Again, I have a waiting list for this option from a few regulars but if I have surplus I advertise it on FB and usually gone in under an hour.
This is the easy bit - honestly! PM if you want a chat but it really is simple. I'll dig out another old thread in a min which should help...
Ah, ok. For inspection purposes, you'll need hot water and separate handwashing facilities, chilled storage for both in-fur carcasses and meat, blue roll dispenser, and adequate disposal facilities (small amounts can go with domestic waste, larger amounts would need a commercial disposal service). Stainless work area, or decent boards (I use the large polypropylene boards), and the work area should be wipe-clean with no exposed brickwork, etc. Pest control needs to be considered too, and you'll need public liability insurance, food hygiene level two, a demonstrable knowledge of safe temperatures, and your cleaning materials need to comply with EN 1276 and 14476 (which most do anyway, but check) You'll also need to maintain chiller temperature logs. Not sure if you need to keep a carcass log in England though, but it'd be pretty good practice anyway. Separate aprons for butchery and handling in-fur carcasses too (I use disposable ones for skinning) And you'll need a skinning area separate from the butchery, too. Hopefully @VSS, @sauer and others can fill in anything I've forgotten
Some more light reading!
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