Assemblyman Al Stirpe, D-North Syracuse, is pictured marching in a 2025 parade. Stirpe is proposing legislation that he hopes will encourage more stores to offer fresh cut meats rather than pre-packaged meat.

Assemblyman Al Stirpe wants to help bring fresh cut meats back to New York’s stores.

Stirpe, D-North Syracuse, introduced the Honesty in Cut Meat Act (A.11325) before the end of the legislative session. The bill was introduced late enough in the session that it wasn’t considered in 2026, but could be discussed in 2027 when the next session begins.

The legislation would amend the state’s General Business Law to require grocery stores to clearly disclose whether meat sold has been cut on-site or pre-cut and prepackaged off site. Civil penalties could be up to $2,500 per violation.

“It is aim of this policy to promote transparency in meat sourcing and sales in New York to support high quality, fresh food options for consumers, allowing them to make informed purchasing decisions between meat that is freshly cut in the store by experienced, knowledgeable butchers and meat that has been pre-cut and pre-packaged by external processors or distributors,” Stirpe said in his legislative justification. “In-store meat cutters represent a skilled yet declining workforce as grocery stores shift towards pre-cut, pre-packaged meat. This trend has exacerbated issues of job loss, affordability, and community sustainment.”

Most large retailers now process meat in regional facilities that use modified atmosphere packaging or vacuum sealing, which replaces oxygen with nitrogen or carbon dioxide to artificially extend shelf life and preserve color. The centralization and use of automation has resulted in lower costs, while U.S. Agriculture Department regulations implemented in the wake of E. coli outbreaks made it simpler and legally safer for big-box stores to receive pre-packaged products like hamburger than to manage in-house stations. At the same time, consolidation in the meat production industry has created the ability to produce highly uniform, factory sealed cuts to be delivered to stores.

There are still stores with fresh cut meats in Chautauqua County. Neckers Company General Store in Clymer still sells meat cut in the store, as does the Lighthouse Point Grocery located on Route 394 outside of Mayville, the Kennedy Meat Market in Randolph, and Farm Fresh Foods on Third Street in Jamestown. There are also several farms and meat processors in the area like Johnson Farms in Ashville, Moon Meadow Farms on Moon Road outside of Jamestown, Stevens Brothers and Troyer’s Processing in Panama and Carlberg Farm Livestock and Produce.

Stirpe, however, remembers a time when supermarkets cut their own meat as well. And while A.11325 may not bring a return to those days, the lawmaker wants to increase the offering of fresh cut meats throughout the state.

“This act seeks to encourage the consumption of freshly cut products to promote the state’s meat industry and increase employment in the communities served by grocery stores,” Stirpe said.