How to sell (legally) in the US ...

[big_onion]

I'd like to start supplying some of my products (primarily pancetta) to some local restaurants -- one of the chefs of a high end restaurant in town really likes one of the pancettas that I make -- and I'm not sure how to go about doing this. Last time I looked into this process it was crazy complicated and, essentially, called for building or retrofitting a facility with all kinds of crazy things.

I'm wondering if anyone knows of any method for, say, getting a meat processor to cure the meat for you? Is that a common thing? Am I maybe misreading some of this stuff and can do it on a small scale without having to spend half a million dollars?

It seems like a really confusing area, in terms of legality, and I can't seem to find too many people who know much about it who can answer my questions. Outside of the city we have some processors, and I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile to see if it's something they can do for me (for a price, obviously). Is that something they might agree to?

Any ideas on where to start?

[wnkt]

All I can tell you is check with the local Health Department, they are the last word in "Legal".