| (a) Custom slaughter requirements. The requirements
of this section shall apply to the custom slaughter by any person
of livestock, as defined in §221.12(b) of this title (relating
to Meat and Poultry Inspection), delivered by or for the owner thereof
for such slaughter, not for sale to the public and for the exclusive
use of the owner, a member of the owner's household, or a nonpaying
guest of the owner. The requirements of this section do not apply
to hunter killed game animals, as defined in §221.12(b) of this
title. The requirements of this section do not apply to processing
of hunter killed exotic animals, or hunter killed feral swine, as
defined in §221.12(b) of this title, provided persons engaged
in such processing do not utilize the same facilities to engage in
the receipt, storage, processing, or distribution of other meat and/or
poultry food products.
(1) Animals for slaughter. Only healthy animals, exhibiting
no abnormalities, may be accepted for custom slaughter at custom slaughter
establishments. Unhealthy or unsound animals are those that exhibit
any condition that is not normally expected to be exhibited in a healthy
and sound member of that species.
(A) Examples of abnormal or unsound animals include
animals that are not able to get up, or animals that have a missing
or abnormal eye, swellings, rectal or vaginal prolapse, ocular or
nasal discharge, a cough, or a limp.
(B) Animals that have an obviously recent break of
the lower leg (below the stifle or elbow) and are able to walk and
stand are not considered to be unsound or unhealthy if no other abnormal
conditions are noted.
(2) Record keeping.
(A) Operators of facilities conducting custom slaughter
shall keep records for a period of two years, beginning on January
1 of the previous year plus the current year to date.
(B) The records shall be available to department representatives
on request.
(C) Custom slaughter records shall contain the name,
address, and telephone number of the owner of each animal presented,
the date the animal was slaughtered, the species and brief description
of the livestock. If a custom processor accepts farm slaughtered animals
for custom processing, records shall contain a signed statement from
the animal owner that the animal was healthy and exhibited no abnormalities,
other than an obviously recent break to the lower leg (below the stifle
or elbow) and was able to walk and stand at the time of slaughter.
(D) Additional records that must be kept include records
such as bills of sale, invoices, bills of lading, and receiving and
shipping papers for transactions in which any livestock or carcass,
meat or meat food product is purchased, sold, shipped, received, transported
or otherwise handled by the custom slaughter establishment.
(E) If the custom slaughter establishment also maintains
a retail meat outlet, separate records as listed in subparagraph (D)
of this paragraph, shall be maintained for each type of business conducted
at the establishment.
(3) Sanitary methods. Custom slaughter operations shall
be maintained in sanitary condition. Each custom slaughter establishment
shall comply with the requirements of 9 CFR, Part 416, adopted under §221.11
of this title (relating to Federal Regulations on Meat and Poultry
Inspection). Establishments that accept farm slaughtered livestock
must complete and document cleaning and sanitization of all surfaces
and equipment used in the processing of the farm slaughtered livestock
before those surfaces and equipment may be used to process other products.
(4) Humane treatment of animals.
(A) Livestock pens, driveways, and ramps shall be maintained
in good repair and free from sharp or protruding objects which may
cause injury or pain to the animals. Floors of livestock pens, ramps,
and driveways shall be constructed and maintained so as to provide
good footing for livestock.
(B) A pen sufficient to protect livestock from the
adverse climatic conditions of the locale shall be required at those
custom slaughter establishments that hold animals overnight or through
the day.
(C) Animals shall have access to water in all holding
pens and, if held longer than 24 hours, access to feed. There shall
be sufficient room in the holding pen for animals held overnight to
lie down.
(D) Livestock must be humanely slaughtered in accordance
with this section and 9 CFR §313, Humane Slaughter of Livestock,
adopted by reference in §221.11 of this title. The slaughtering
of livestock by using captive bolt stunners, electrical stunners,
and shooting with firearms, are designated as humane methods of stunning.
(i) The captive bolt stunners, electrical stunners,
or delivery of a bullet or projectile shall be applied to the livestock
in a manner so as to produce immediate unconsciousness in the animal
before they are shackled, hoisted, thrown, cast, or cut. The animal
shall be stunned in such a manner that they will be rendered unconscious
with a minimum of excitement and discomfort.
(ii) The driving of animals to the stunning area shall
be done with a minimum of excitement and discomfort to the animals.
Delivery of calm animals to the stunning area is essential since accurate
placement of stunning equipment is difficult on nervous or injured
animals. Electrical equipment shall be minimally used with the lowest
effective voltage to drive the animal to the stunning area. Pipes,
sharp or pointed objects, and other items which would cause injury
or unnecessary pain to the animal shall not be used to drive livestock.
(iii) Immediately after the stunning blow is delivered,
the animals shall be in a state of complete unconsciousness and remain
in this condition throughout shackling, sticking, and rapid exsanguination.
(iv) Stunning instruments must be maintained in good
repair and available for inspection by a department representative.
(v) Inhumane treatment of animals is prohibited and
any observed inhumane treatment of animals shall be subject to the
tagging provisions of paragraph (6)(C) of this subsection in addition
to possible enforcement action.
(E) Establishments conducting ritual slaughter in accordance
with 7 U.S.C. §1902(b).
(i) Establishments conducting ritual slaughter must
have a completed document, that is signed and dated by an appropriate
authority attesting to the conduct of ritual slaughter at that establishment.
This document must list, by name, the individuals authorized to perform
ritual slaughter at that establishment.
(ii) Establishments conducting ritual slaughter in
accordance with 7 U.S.C. §1902(b) are exempt from the stunning
requirements of this section and the requirements of 9 CFR §313.2(f), §313.5, §313.15, §313.16, §313.30,
and §313.50(c) pertaining to stunning methods provided animals
are humanely restrained and adequately restrained to prevent harm
to the animal throughout the slaughter process.
(5) Containers used for meat food products, paper,
or other materials in contact with meat food products.
(A) To avoid contamination of product, containers shall
be lined with suitable material of good quality before packing.
(B) Containers and trucks, or other means of conveyance
in which any carcass or part is transported to the owner shall be
kept in a clean and sanitary condition.
(C) Paper or other materials used for covering or lining
containers and the cargo space of trucks, or other means of conveyance
shall be of a kind which does not tear during use but remains intact
and does not disintegrate when moistened by the product.
(6) Tagging insanitary equipment, utensils, rooms,
and carcasses.
(A) A department representative may attach a "Texas
Rejected" tag to any equipment, utensil, room, or compartment at a
custom slaughter establishment that a department representative determines
is insanitary and is a health hazard. No equipment, utensil, room,
or compartment so tagged shall again be used until untagged or released
by a department representative. Such tag shall not be removed by anyone
other than a department representative.
(B) A department representative that determines a carcass
is adulterated, unfit for human food, is from an unhealthy or unsound
animal, or could result in a health hazard, may attach a "Texas Retained"
tag to the carcass and document the reason for attaching the tag on
a form specified by the department and deliver the form to the operator
of the custom slaughter establishment. The owner of the carcass shall
be notified by the plant operator and advised of the potential health
risk. The custom slaughter establishment shall ensure that the owner
of the carcass either authorizes the voluntary destruction and denaturing
of the carcass and all parts or agrees to remove the carcass from
the custom slaughter establishment.
Cont'd... |
