For use beginning 10/01/2019
CWD is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) of captive and wild cervid animals in the United States and Canada. State and federal regulations currently require CWD testing of all cervid mortalities that are 12 months or older, except for fallow deer. This document outlines the policy of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) pertaining to CWD testing of captive cervids at slaughter in Vermont.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers cervid animals that test positive for CWD at post-mortem to be adulterated and not fit for human food under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). Therefore, when a cervid animal is tested for CWD and slaughtered under voluntary inspection services, VAAFM cannot determine the wholesomeness of the carcass and parts without the CWD test results.

IPP are to retain, and not to apply or allow the establishment to apply the mark of inspection to carcasses of cervid animals, or parts thereof, until after “not detected” test results are received. IPP are to allow establishments to hold or further process (e.g., bone) these carcasses under inspection pending test results provided that the affected carcass or parts remain retained. IPP are to observe how the establishment addresses cross contamination during further processing of these products and ensure the carcass and parts are handled in a sanitary manner.

For use beginning 8/1/2019
Expires when superseded
This notice announces two changes that FSIS has made in the regulations in 9 CFR. Per 6 V.S.A 3305(8), the federal meat inspection regulations and federal poultry inspection regulations of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Title 9, Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter 3, 9 CFR §§ 300.1 et seq., together with any amendments, supplements, or revisions thereto, are adopted as part of this chapter.

For use beginning 7/1/2018
This notice provides instructions to Public Health Veterinarians (PHVs) and inspection program personnel (IPP) about assessing and informing official livestock establishments whether their written systematic approach for humane handling and slaughter meets the criteria for being a robust plan or not. This notice provides instructions to Public Health Veterinarians (PHVs), inspection program personnel (IPP) and District Veterinary Medical Specialists (DVMSs) about assessing and informing official livestock establishments whether their written systematic approach for humane handling and slaughter meets the criteria for being a “robust” program. This notice also indicates the expected frequency for PHV verification reviews of an existing robust systematic approach to humane handling and slaughter.

For use beginning 11/28/2017
This notice provides instructions to program personnel to fully comply with the same sanitation and hygiene regulations that the establishment or plant personnel must adhere to, and to fully comply with the sanitary and hygiene procedures and biosecurity measures put in place by an official meat or poultry establishment, an import inspection establishment, a retail establishment, a custom establishment, or any other food producing establishment that personnel visit in the performance of their inspection duties, that these facilities also require of all of their employees. Program personnel should be prepared to meet the requirements of the establishments they cover.

For use beginning 7/25/2014
This directive provides instructions to inspection program personnel (IPP) for performing sampling tasks in official establishments related to FSIS domestic sampling programs using the Public Health Information System (PHIS). FSIS is reissuing this directive to incorporate the PHIS enhancements and changes associated with the sampling tasks.
KEY POINTS:
• Provides IPP instructions for submitting directed lab samples
• Provides IPP instructions for submitting collector generated samples
• Provides IPP instructions for entering KIS™ test results in PHIS
• Provides IPP instructions for sample collection in the PHIS disconnected state
• Describes the PHIS sampling enhancements

For use beginning 4/3/2022
This document describes the roles, functions, and responsibilities of Agencies and FSIS offices involved in the control of residues in meat and poultry products as part of the National Residue Program (NRP).

For use beginning 3/31/2022
This directive provides instructions to inspection program personnel (IPP), on deciding which carcasses to select for inspector-generated sampling under the National Residue Program (NRP) for meat and poultry products.
KEY POINTS:
• Public Health Veterinarians and IPP should use this list in conjunction with their professional judgement to prioritize selection of carcasses for KIS™Testing
• Public Health Veterinarians (PHVs) have professional discretion when determining carcasses to choose for residue testing

For use beginning 3/30/2022
This directive provides instructions to inspection program personnel (IPP) for completing sampling tasks for residue testing under the U.S. National Residue Program and for updating the Public Health Information System (PHIS) profile information related to residue sampling.
KEY POINTS:
• In-plant residue screening (Kidney Inhibition Swab (KIS™)) tests are not performed in poultry, exotic animals slaughtered or under voluntary inspection
• Tissues collected for residue testing do not need to be frozen prior to shipping to the FSIS laboratory • Samples for residue testing are to be collected in a sanitary manner and do not require aseptic technique

For use beginning 4/30/2020
This directive provides the method by which APHIS will be contacted for the collection of BSE Samples from cattle displaying CNS symptoms. It provides updated instructions on collecting samples only from cattle that are 12 months of age or older that display signs (e.g., head pressing, circling) of a central nervous system (CNS) disorder. KEY POINTS: • Sets out definition of collection procedures. • Provides sample collection for cattle displaying CNS symptoms.

For use beginning 11/1/2013
A. This directive provides Enforcement, Investigation, and Analysis Officers (EIAOs) with instructions for collecting samples as part of the IVT sampling program. The IVT sampling program includes the collection of product, food contact surface, and environmental (non-food contact surface) samples for testing for Lm or Salmonella. In addition, this directive provides instructions for scheduling IVT sampling.
B. FSIS is revising this directive to include instructions to EIAOs for performing IVT sampling in response to Salmonella positive verification testing results in ready-to-eat (RTE) meat and poultry products. Previous versions of the directive only included sampling instructions for Lm. It also provides EIAOs with instructions for performing IVT sampling in establishments that temporarily alter their routine practices. In addition, this directive provides EIAOs with instruction to increase the number of IVT product samples they collect from 3 to 5 samples per unit, consistent with changes FSIS made in January 2013. This directive also provides EIAOs with instructions for verifying that establishments hold or control RTE products that FSIS has tested for pathogens, or that have passed over direct food contact surfaces that FSIS has tested for pathogens, pending the results of FSIS testing. In addition, this directive provides new instructions for submitting samples when interventions such as high-pressure processing (HPP) are applied. KEY POINTS:  EIAO sampling procedures in the IVT Sampling Program  Actions in establishments that temporarily alter routine practices during sampling