For use beginning 2/1/2016
This directive issues instructions to inspection program personnel (IPP) to verify whether establishments maintain necessary controls and records when donating certain misbranded or economically adulterated meat and poultry products to non-profit organizations. These instructions apply to IPP at official establishments. The State Meat Enforcement and Compliance Officer is to verify that in-commerce facilities maintain necessary controls and records for the donation of certain misbranded or economically adulterated meat or poultry products.
For use beginning 10/1/2020
This directive informs inspection program personnel (IPP) of the requirements, verification activities, and enforcement actions for ensuring that the handling and slaughter of livestock, including disabled livestock and livestock slaughtered by religious ritual methods, is humane. This directive provides instructions to IPP (e.g., public health veterinarian (PHV), Food Safety Specialists (FSS)) for conducting humane handling activities randomly throughout their tour of duty and provides instructions to IPP, in establishments that assert that they have put in place a systematic approach, on how to assess whether that approach is robust. PHVs are to no longer perform a monthly verification task (Verification of a Robust Systematic Approach) to determine whether an establishment maintains a robust systematic approach for humane handling as they are expected to make this assessment on an ongoing basis and inform the establishment of any status change in this regard. FSIS has modified the definition of egregious inhumane treatment and instructs IPP to document egregious inhumane treatment on a noncompliance record (NR) instead of a memorandum of interview (MOI). This revision also updates instructions for entering humane handling verification data into the Public Health Information System (PHIS).
In addition, per 6VSA 3306, establishments are currently required to submit a written humane handling plan to the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets upon application for initial or renewal licensing. Establishments may choose to develop and implement a robust systematic approach for the humane handling of animals. On September 9, 2004, FSIS published a notice in the Federal Register (54 Fed. Reg. 54625) entitled “Humane Handling and Slaughter Requirements and the Merits of a Systematic Approach To Meet Such Requirements.” This Federal Register Notice 2 details the background on the humane handling and slaughter statutes issued by Congress and regulation of humane handling by FSIS. It also details steps industry should take to assure effective compliance with the Acts and regulations.
For use beginning 10/17/2016
This directive instructs inspection program personnel (IPP) how to verify that establishments effectively prevent contamination of poultry carcasses (other than ratites) throughout the slaughter and dressing operation as required in 9 CFR 381.65(f) and (g). This directive contains instructions previously found in VAAFM Notice 64-14, Modernization of Poultry Slaughter Inspection: Verifying an Establishment’s Procedures for Preventing Contamination by Enteric Pathogens and Fecal Material, and VT Directive 6410.3 Verifying Sanitary Dressing and Process Control Procedures by Off-Line Inspection Program Personnel (IPP) in Poultry Slaughter Operations. VAAFM will no longer assign the Poultry Sanitary Dressing Verification task in the Public Health Information System (PHIS). This directive also supersedes instructions relating to poultry fecal contamination verification (Chapters III., IV., and V.) of VT Directive 6420.2, Verification of Procedures for Controlling Fecal Material, Ingesta and Milk Contamination. Lastly, this directive clarifies that the recordkeeping and sampling requirements in 9 CFR 381.65(g) are applicable to poultry establishments that slaughter under a religious exemption.
KEY POINTS
• Verifying establishments prevent contamination with feces and enteric pathogens throughout the slaughter process as part of the slaughter HACCP system
• Verifying establishments meet zero tolerance requirements for feces on poultry carcasses entering chilling system.
• Reviewing poultry slaughter establishment sampling results.
For use beginning 3/1/2020
This directive provides inspection program personnel (IPP) with the current method for protecting public health by verifying, documenting, and enforcing the requirement that there be no visible fecal material, milk, or ingesta on livestock carcasses at or immediately after the final rail, and for verifying that feces, ingesta, and milk are not present on head, cheek, and weasand meat at packing. In this revision, FSIS increased the livestock carcass sample size in Attachment 1. This change will help the Agency better analyze data from establishments that operate under traditional inspection and the New Swine Slaughter Inspection System (NSIS).
For use beginning 1/31/2020
This directive instructs inspection program personnel (IPP) on how to verify that establishments effectively prevent contamination of swine carcasses and parts throughout the slaughter and dressing operation as required in 9 CFR 310.18(c). It also instructs IPP on how to verify that establishments meet the recordkeeping requirements in 9 CFR 310.18(d). The requirements in 9 CFR 310.18(c) and (d) apply to all swine slaughter establishments as per the modernization of swine slaughter inspection final rule.
KEY POINTS:
• Provides instructions to IPP on how to verify compliance with the requirements in the modernization of swine slaughter inspection final rule that apply to all swine slaughter establishments, including instructions on how to verify that:
o The regulatory sampling requirements are being met;
o Establishments are preventing contamination throughout the slaughter and dressing process as part of their Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans, sanitation standard operating procedures (Sanitation SOPs), or other prerequisite programs (i.e., their HACCP systems); and
o Establishment sampling plans meet all requirements as per 9 CFR 310.18(c) and (d).
• Provides instructions to IPP on how to review establishment sampling results and determine actions to be taken.
For use beginning 12/1/2011
A. This directive is being reissued to provide off-line inspection program personnel (IPP) with information regarding how to verify that cattle slaughter operations are implementing sanitary dressing and process control procedures, and that the procedures they are implementing prevent contamination of carcasses and ensure that insanitary conditions are not created.
B. In addition, this directive provides information describing how IPP are to assess the sanitary dressing and process controls cattle slaughter establishments employ in their food safety systems. Such controls are likely to include decontamination and antimicrobial intervention treatments. Establishments should verify the effectiveness of these controls by sampling and testing for microorganisms of beef manufacturing trimmings, other raw ground beef components (including head meat and cheek meat), and raw ground beef.
KEY POINTS:
Defines Process Control Procedures Defines Sanitary Dressing Defines Contamination of Carcasses and Parts
Describes the purpose of sanitary dressing and process control procedures
Describes the points in the slaughter process where carcass contamination with food safety hazards, such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7, are most likely to occur
Describes how an establishment’s failure to properly execute its sanitary dressing and process control procedures can increase the risk of contamination of carcasses and parts at various points in the slaughter operation
Provides instruction to IPP regarding how to verify that cattle slaughter operations are implementing effective sanitary dressing and process control procedures to prevent contamination of carcasses and are properly applying decontamination and antimicrobial intervention treatments to carcasses and parts to address any contamination that my occur
Provides instruction to IPP on how to verify that the establishment is properly assessing any microbial testing results, including results for indicators of process control, at any point during slaughter and at subsequent trim fabrication and grinding operations. Examples of microorganisms used as indicators of process control in raw beef operations include Enterobacteriacae, generic E. coli, E. coli O157:H7, non-O157 STECs, and Salmonella
Provides information regarding slaughter food safety systems and how each aspect of the system (e.g., sanitary dressing and process control procedures, intervention treatments, product sampling, supporting documentation) is a factor to be considered when determining whether there is regulatory compliance
Provides clarification regarding the differences between documenting noncompliance under PBIS procedure code 06D01 and under procedure code 01C02
Provides information regarding supervisory responsibilities, including instructions to Public Health Veterinarians (SPHV), Supervisory Consumer Safety Inspectors (SCSI), the Inspector-in-Charge (IIC), Multi-IPPs Supervisors, and Front Line Supervisors (FLS)
For use beginning on 01/09/2020
This directive provides instructions to inspection program personnel (IPP) regarding their responsibilities in an official establishment that manufactures animal food or similar uninspected articles in the edible product department. FSIS is revising this directive because the Agency has issued a final rule removing the prescriptive regulatory requirements in 9 CFR 318.12 and 381.152 that govern the manufacture of uninspected products in edible product areas of official establishments and prohibit official establishments from manufacturing such products outside the hours of inspection. These amendments make the regulations at 9 CFR 318.12 and 381.152 consistent with the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and sanitation regulations (9 CFR part 416 and 417).
KEY POINTS:
• Provides IPP information regarding establishments that produce pet food outside the hours of inspection.
• Provides IPP instructions for verifying an establishment’s compliance with HA
For use beginning 12/07/2007
This directive instructs inspection program personnel on how to perform antemortem and post-mortem inspection of ratites. In addition, this directive provides direction on how to make dispositions for some ratite diseases post-mortem and how to document the findings. Finally, this directive provides information about the compliance guidelines for the proposed performance standards for the production of processed meat from ratites.
Key Points Covered:
- Ante-mortem inspection for ratites
- Post-mortem inspection for ratites
- Disposition determinations
For use beginning 11/1/2013
This directive instructs inspection program personnel (IPP) to use the Improvest® Quality assurance certificate as documentation to determine whether hogs processed under the Improvest® program are classified as barrows. If intact male hogs are presented for slaughter without a Quality Assurance Certificate, IPP will address these animals as intact boars.
For use beginning 04/01/2019
This directive instructs Public Health Veterinarians (PHVs) on how to make post-mortem livestock dispositions for selected diseases and conditions and how to document the findings in the Public Health Information System (PHIS). This directive is being revised to clarify how PHVs are to make supportable dispositions of livestock carcasses and to clarify that there is no required “set” of procedures that must be performed on each carcass.
KEY POINTS:
• Provides instructions to PHVs on making dispositions of livestock carcasses and parts for selected livestock diseases and conditions
• Provides instructions to PHVs on documenting post-mortem findings in the PHIS Animal Disposition Report. The FSIS Form 6200-14, Daily Disposition Record, is no longer required to record disposition data as this data is now captured in PHIS
