| (E) If the custom processing 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.
(F) Temperature monitoring records shall be maintained
by the custom processor, for heat treated or ready-to-eat products.
These records shall include the temperature attained and time held
during heating and the time and temperatures during the cool down
process.
(3) Sanitary methods. Custom processing establishments
shall be maintained in sanitary condition. Each custom processing
establishment shall comply with the requirements of 9 CFR, Part 416,
adopted under §221.11 of this title.
(4) Containers used for product; paper or other materials
in contact with product.
(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 product is transported to the owner shall be kept in
a clean and sanitary condition.
(C) Boxes and any containers used as tote boxes shall
be clean and stored off the floor in a manner that does not interfere
with good sanitation.
(5) 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 processing 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 so attached 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 may be 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 establishment. The owner of the carcass shall be notified by
the plant operator and advised of the potential health risk. The custom
processor shall ensure that the owner of the carcass or parts either
authorizes the voluntary destruction and denaturing of the carcass
and all parts or agrees to remove the carcass from the custom processing
establishment. Under no circumstances may the carcass be further processed
at the establishment.
(6) Death by other means than slaughter. Carcasses,
or parts thereof, derived from animals that have died otherwise than
by slaughter. This includes animals, such as roadkill or animals that
have died by disease, trauma, or other accident, may not enter, or
be processed by a granted establishment.
(7) Marking and labeling of custom prepared products.
(A) Products that are custom prepared must be packaged
immediately after preparation and must be labeled with the term "Not
For Sale" in lettering not less than three-eighths inch in height.
Such custom prepared products or their containers shall also bear
the owner's name and any additional labeling such as product cut or
description.
(B) Safe handling instructions shall accompany every
customer's raw or not fully cooked products. The information shall
be in lettering no smaller than one-sixteenth of an inch in size and
may be placed on each product package, each tote box or bag containing
packaged product, or given as a flyer to the customer with the product.
The safe handling instructions shall be placed immediately after the
heading in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph and shall include the
following or similar statements.
(i) "Some meat and meat products may contain bacteria
that could cause illness if the product is mishandled or cooked improperly.
For your protection, follow these safe handling instructions."
(ii) "Meat and poultry must be kept refrigerated or
frozen. Thaw in refrigerator or microwave." However, any portion of
this statement that is in conflict with the product's specific handling
instructions may be omitted, e.g., instructions to cook without thawing.
A graphic illustration of a refrigerator may be displayed next to
this statement.
(iii) "Raw meat and poultry must be kept separate from
other foods. Wash working surfaces including cutting boards, utensils,
and hands after touching raw meat or poultry." A graphic illustration
of soapy hands under a faucet may be displayed next to this statement.
(iv) "Meat and poultry must be cooked thoroughly. Ground
meat products should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees
Fahrenheit or until the juices run clear. Other meat products should
be cooked so that the external temperature reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit."
A graphic illustration of a skillet may be displayed next to this
statement.
(v) "Hot foods must be kept hot. Refrigerate leftovers
immediately or discard." A graphic illustration of a thermometer may
be displayed next to the statement.
(8) Requirements concerning procedures.
(A) Uninspected heads from custom slaughtered animals
may not be sold or used in the preparation of meat food products unless
prepared specifically for the owner of the animal for his personal
use.
(B) Heads for use in the preparation of meat food products
shall be split and the bodies of the teeth, the turbinates and ethmoid
bones, ear tubes, and horn butts removed, and the heads then thoroughly
cleaned.
(C) Bones and parts of bones shall be removed from
product which is intended for chopping or grinding.
(D) Kidneys for use in the preparation of meat food
products shall first be freely sectioned and then thoroughly soaked
and washed.
(E) Clotted blood shall be removed from livestock hearts
before they are used in the preparation of meat food products.
(F) Product shall not be adulterated as defined in §221.12(b)(2)
of this title when placed in coolers or freezers.
(G) Frozen product may be defrosted in water or pickle
in a manner that is not conducive to promoting bacterial growth or
resulting in adulteration of the product.
(9) Requirements concerning ingredients.
(A) All ingredients and other articles used in the
preparation of any product shall be clean, sound, healthful, wholesome,
and otherwise such as to not result in adulteration of product. A
letter of guaranty from the manufacturer stating that the ingredient
or article is safe when used as an ingredient or in contact with food
shall be obtained by the custom processor and made available upon
request to the department representative.
(B) Ingredients for use in any product may not contain
any pesticide chemical or other residues in excess of levels permitted
under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
(10) Approval of substances for use.
(A) No substance may be used in the preparation of
any product unless it is a Food and Drug Administration approved food
additive.
(B) No product shall contain any substance which would
render it adulterated.
(C) Nitrates shall not be used in curing bacon.
(i) Nitrites in the form of sodium nitrite may be used
at 120 parts per million (ppm) ingoing (or in the form of potassium
nitrite at 148 ppm ingoing) maximum for injected, massaged, or immersion
cured bacon; and 550 ppm of sodium ascorbate or sodium erythorbate
(isoascorbate) for injected, massaged, or immersion cured bacon shall
be used.
(ii) Sodium or potassium nitrite may be used at 2 pounds
to 100 gallons pickle at 10% pump level; 1 ounce to 100 pounds meat
(dry cure).
(iii) Sodium ascorbate or sodium erythorbate (isoascorbate)
may be used at 87.5 ounces to 100 gallons pickle at 10% pump level;
7/8 ounces to 100 pounds meat; or 10% solution to surfaces of cut
meat.
(iv) Sodium nitrite shall not exceed 200 ppm ingoing
or an equivalent amount of potassium nitrite (246 ppm ingoing) in
dry cured bacon based on the actual or estimated skin-free green weight
of the bacon belly.
(D) When curing products other than bacon, nitrites,
nitrates, or combination shall not result in more than 200 ppm of
nitrite in the finished product.
(i) Sodium or potassium nitrite may be used at 2 pounds
to 100 gallons pickle at 10% pump level; 1 ounce to 100 pounds meat
(dry cure); or 1/4 ounce to 100 pounds chopped meat and/or meat byproduct.
(ii) Sodium or potassium nitrate may be used at 7 pounds
to 100 gallons pickle; 3 1/2 ounce to 100 pounds meat (dry cure);
or 2 3/4 ounce to 100 pounds chopped meat. (Nitrates may not be used
in bacon.)
(11) Prescribed treatment of heat-treated meat and
poultry products.
(A) All forms of fresh meat and poultry, including
fresh unsmoked sausage and pork such as bacon and jowls are classified
as products that are customarily well cooked in the home before being
consumed. Therefore, the treatment of such products for the destruction
of pathogens is not required.
(B) Meat and poultry products, that are not customarily
cooked or may not be cooked before consumption because they have the
appearance of being fully cooked, must not contain pathogens.
(i) Heat-treated products and dry, semi-dry, and fermented
sausages, that are less than three inches in diameter, are required
to be heated to an internal temperature according to the following
chart:
Attached Graphic
(ii) Heat treated products and dry, semi-dry, and fermented
sausages, that are more than three inches in diameter, are required
to be heated to an internal temperature according to the following
chart:
Attached Graphic
(iii) Heat treated products that must be stored under
refrigerated temperatures must be cooled quickly to prevent bacterial
growth. During cooling, the product's maximum internal temperature
should not remain between 130 degrees Fahrenheit and 80 degrees Fahrenheit
for more than 1 1/2 hours nor between 80 degrees Fahrenheit and 40
degrees Fahrenheit for more than 5 hours. Custom processors may slowly
cool cured products in accordance with Food Safety and Inspection
Services (FSIS) Directive 7110.3, Time/Temperature Guidelines for
Cooling Heated Products, which may be viewed at www.fsis.usda.gov,
or other substantiated support.
(iv) Custom processors not utilizing a heating step
as described in clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of this subparagraph
must submit an alternate procedure, describing the method utilized
in determining safety, to a department representative.
(v) Custom processors may produce heat-treated or ready-to-eat
custom products, including chorizo, at temperatures other than those
listed in clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of this subparagraph when requested
to do so by the owner of the product. The custom processor must obtain
a signed statement from the owner of the product stating that the
risks associated with eating under-cooked meat products are understood.
(C) When necessary to comply with the requirements
of this section, the smokehouses, drying rooms, and other compartments
used in the treatment of meat and poultry products to destroy pathogens
shall be suitably equipped, by the operator of the custom processing
establishment with accurate automatic recording thermometers.
(12) Denaturing procedures. Carcasses, parts thereof,
meat and meat food products that are adulterated and/or not returned
to the owner shall be adequately denatured or decharacterized to preclude
their use as human food. Before the denaturing agents are applied,
carcasses and carcass parts shall be freely slashed or sectioned.
The denaturing agent must be mixed with all of the carcasses or carcass
parts to be denatured, and must be applied in such quantity and manner
that it cannot easily and readily be removed by washing or soaking.
A sufficient amount of the appropriate agent shall be used to give
the material a distinctive color, odor, or taste so that such material
cannot be confused with an article of human food.
(c) Low-volume poultry or rabbit slaughter operations
requirements.
(1) Animals for slaughter. No adulterated poultry or
rabbits as defined in §221.12(b)(2) of this title shall be slaughtered
for the purpose of selling its carcass or parts for food. Only healthy
poultry and rabbits, exhibiting no abnormalities, may be slaughtered
for sale as food. Unhealthy or unsound poultry and rabbits are those
that exhibit any condition that is not normally expected to be exhibited
in a healthy and sound member of that species. Examples of abnormal
or unsound animals include animals that are not able to get up, or
animals that have any swellings, rectal or vaginal prolapse, ocular
or nasal discharge, a cough, or a limp.
(2) Record keeping.
(A) Operators of facilities conducting slaughter under
a Poultry or Rabbit Exemption shall keep 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 for a period of two years, beginning on January 1 of the previous
year plus the current year to date.
Cont'd... |
