§ 310.18 - Contamination of carcasses, organs, or other parts.

§ 310.18 Contamination of carcasses, organs, or other parts.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 84 FR 52348, Oct. 1, 2019.

(a) Carcasses, organs, and other parts shall be handled in a sanitary manner to prevent contamination with fecal material, urine, bile, hair, dirt, or foreign matter; however, if contamination occurs, it shall be promptly removed in a manner satisfactory to the inspector.

(b) Brains, cheek meat, and head trimmings from animals stunned by lead, sponge iron, or frangible bullets shall not be saved for use as human food but shall be handled as described in § 314.1 or § 314.3 of this subchapter.

(c) Official swine slaughter establishments must develop, implement, and maintain written procedures to prevent contamination of carcasses and parts by enteric pathogens, and visible fecal material, ingesta, and milk contamination throughout the entire slaughter and dressing operation. Establishments must incorporate these procedures into their HACCP plans, or sanitation SOPs, or other prerequisite programs. These procedures must include sampling and analysis for microbial organisms in accordance with the sampling location and frequency requirements in paragraphs (c)(1) and (2) of this section to monitor their ability to maintain process control.

(1) Sampling locations. Official swine slaughter establishments, except for very low-volume establishments, must collect and analyze carcass samples for microbial organisms at the pre-evisceration and post-chill points in the process. Establishments that slaughter more than one type of livestock must test the type of livestock slaughtered in the greatest number. Establishments that bone their products before chilling (i.e., hot-boned products) must collect and analyze samples at the pre-evisceration point in the process and after the final wash instead of at post-chill. Very low-volume establishments must collect and analyze samples for microbial organisms at the post-chill point in the process. All swine establishments must sponge or excise tissue from the ham, belly, and jowl areas.

(i) Very low-volume establishments annually slaughter no more than 20,000 swine, or a combination of swine and other livestock not exceeding 6,000 cattle and 20,000 total of all livestock.

(ii) [Reserved]

(2) Sampling frequency. Establishments, except for very low-volume establishments as defined in paragraph (c)(1)(i) of this section, must collect and analyze samples at a frequency proportional to the establishment's volume of production at the following rates:

(i) Establishments, except for very low-volume establishments as defined in paragraph (c)(1)(i) of this section, must collect and analyze samples at a frequency of once per 1,000 carcasses, but a minimum of once during each week of operation.

(ii) Very low-volume establishments as defined in paragraph (c)(1)(i) of this section must collect and analyze samples at least once during each week of operation starting June 1 of every year. If, after consecutively collecting 13 weekly samples, very low-volume establishments can demonstrate that they are effectively maintaining process control, they may modify their sampling plans.

(iii) Establishments must maintain accurate records of all test results and retain these records as provided in paragraph (d) of this section.

(d) Official swine slaughter establishments must maintain daily records sufficient to document the implementation and monitoring of the procedures required under this section. Records required by this section may be maintained on computers if the establishment implements appropriate controls to ensure the integrity of the electronic data. Records required by this section must be maintained for at least one year and must be accessible to FSIS.

[35 FR 15567, Oct. 3, 1970, as amended at 84 FR 52348, Oct. 1, 2019]