9 C.F.R. Subpart I—Operating Procedures
Title 9 - Animals and Animal Products
Title 9: Animals and Animal Products
PART 381—POULTRY PRODUCTS INSPECTION REGULATIONS
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Subpart I—Operating Procedures
§ 381.65 Operations and procedures, generally.
(a) Operations and procedures involving the processing, other handling, or storing of any poultry product must be strictly in accord with clean and sanitary practices and must be conducted in a manner that will result in sanitary processing, proper inspection, and the production of poultry and poultry products that are not adulterated.
(b) Poultry must be slaughtered in accordance with good commercial practices in a manner that will result in thorough bleeding of the carcasses and ensure that breathing has stopped prior to scalding. Blood from the killing operation must be confined to a relatively small area.
(c) When thawing frozen ready-to-cook poultry in water, the establishment must use methods that prevent adulteration of, or net weight gain by, the poultry.
(d) The water used in washing the poultry must be permitted to drain freely from the body cavity.
(e) Poultry carcasses contaminated with visible fecal material shall be prevented from entering the chilling tank.
(f) Detached ova may be collected for human food and handled only in accordance with 9 CFR 590.44 and may leave the establishment only to be moved to an official egg product processing plant for processing. Ova from condemned carcasses must be condemned and treated as required in §381.95.
[66 FR 1771, Jan. 9, 2001; 66 FR 19714, Apr. 17, 2001]
§ 381.66 Temperatures and chilling and freezing procedures.
(a) General. Temperatures and procedures that are necessary for chilling and freezing ready-to-cook poultry, including all edible portions thereof, must be in accordance with operating procedures that ensure the prompt removal of the animal heat, preserve the condition and wholesomeness of the poultry, and assure that the products are not adulterated.
(b) General chilling requirements, except for ratites. (1) All poultry that is slaughtered and eviscerated in the official establishment shall be chilled immediately after processing so that the internal temperature is reduced to 40 °F. or less, as provided in paragraph (b)(2) of this section unless such poultry is to be frozen or cooked immediately at the official establishment. Eviscerated poultry to be shipped from the establishment in packaged form shall be maintained at 40 °F. or less, except that during further processing and packaging operations, the internal temperature may rise to a maximum of 55 °F.: Provided, That immediately after packaging, the poultry is placed under refrigeration at a temperature that will promptly lower the internal temperature of the product to 40 °F. or less, or the poultry is placed in a freezer. Poultry which is to be held at the plant in packaged form in excess of 24 hours shall be held in a room at a temperature of 36 °F. or less.
(2) Major portions of poultry carcasses, as defined in §381.170(b)(22), and poultry carcasses shall be chilled to 40 °F. or lower within the following specified times:
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Time Weight of carcass (hours)------------------------------------------------------------------------Under 4 pounds............................................... 44 to 8 pounds................................................ 6Over 8 pounds................................................ 8------------------------------------------------------------------------
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(c) Ice and water chilling. (1) Only ice produced from potable water may be used for ice and water chilling, except that water and ice used for chilling may be reused in accordance with §416.2(g). The ice must be handled and stored in a sanitary manner.
(2)(i) Poultry chilling equipment must be operated in a manner consistent with meeting the applicable pathogen reduction performance standards for raw poultry products as set forth in §381.94 and the provisions of the establishment's HACCP plan.
(ii) Major portions of poultry carcasses, as defined in §381.170(b)(22), may be chilled in water and ice.
(3) Previously chilled poultry carcasses and major portions must be maintained constantly at 40 °F or below until removed from the vats or tanks for immediate packaging. Such products may be removed from the vats or tanks prior to being cooled to 40 °F or below, for freezing or cooling in the official establishment. Such products must not be packed until after they have been chilled to 40 °F or below, except when the packaging will be followed immediately by freezing at the official establishment.
(4) Giblets must be chilled to 40 °F or below within 2 hours from the time they are removed from the inedible viscera, except that when they are cooled with the carcass, the requirements of paragraph (b)(2) of this section must apply. Any of the acceptable methods of chilling the poultry carcass may be followed in cooling giblets.
(d) Water absorption and retention. (1) Poultry washing, chilling, and draining practices and procedures must be such as will minimize water absorption and retention at time of packaging.
(2) The establishment must provide scales, weights, identification devices, and other supplies necessary to conduct water tests.
(e) Air chilling. In air chilling ready-to-cook poultry, the internal temperature of the carcasses shall be reduced to 40 °F. or less within 16 hours.
(f) Freezing. (1) Ready-to-cook poultry which is to be or is labeled with descriptive terms such as “fresh frozen,” “quick frozen” or “frozen fresh” or any other term implying a rapid change from a fresh state to a frozen state shall be placed into a freezer within 48 hours after initial chilling in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section. During this period, if such poultry is not immediately placed into a freezer after chilling and packaging, it shall be held at 36 °F. or lower.
(2) Ready-to-cook poultry shall be frozen in a manner so as to bring the internal temperature of the birds at the center of the package to 0 °F. or below within 72 hours from the time of entering the freezer. Such procedures shall not apply to raw poultry product described in §381.129(b)(6)(i) of this subchapter.
(3) Upon written request, and under such conditions as may be prescribed by the Administrator, in specific cases, ready-to-cook poultry which is to be frozen immediately may be moved from the official establishment prior to freezing: Provided, That the plant and freezer are so located and such necessary arrangements are made that the Inspection Service will have access to the freezing room and adequate opportunity to determine compliance with the time and temperature requirements specified in paragraph (f)(2) of this section.
(4) Warm packaged ready-to-cook poultry which is to be chilled by immediate entry into a freezer within the official establishment shall within 2 hours from time of slaughter be placed in a plate freezer or a freezer with a functioning circulating air system where a temperature of −10 °F. or lower is maintained.
(5) Frozen poultry shall be held under conditions which will maintain the product in a solidly frozen state with temperature maintained as constant as possible under good commercial practice.
[37 FR 9706, May 16, 1972, as amended at 39 FR 4568, 4569, Feb. 5, 1974; 40 FR 42338, Sept. 12, 1975; 49 FR 9411, Mar. 13, 1984; 60 FR 44412, Aug. 25, 1995; 63 FR 48960, Sept. 11, 1998; 66 FR 1771, Jan. 9, 2001; 66 FR 19714, Apr. 17, 2001; 66 FR 22905, May 7, 2001] § 381.67 Young chicken and squab slaughter inspection rate maximums under traditional inspection procedure.
The maximum number of birds to be inspected by each inspector per minute under the traditional inspection procedure for the different young chicken and squab slaughter line configurations are specified in the following table. These maximum rates will not be exceeded. The inspector in charge will be responsible for reducing production line rates where in the inspector's judgment the prescribed inspection procedure cannot be adequately performed within the time available, either because the birds are not presented by the official establishment in such a manner that the carcasses, including both internal and external surfaces and all organs, are readily accessible for inspection, or because the health conditions of a particular flock dictate a need for a more extended inspection procedure. The standards in 381.170(a) of this part specify which classes of birds constitute young chickens and squabs. Section 381.76(b) specifies when either the traditional inspection procedure or the modified traditional inspection procedure can or must be used.
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Maximum Production Line Rates_Chickens and Squabs-Traditional Inspection Procedures------------------------------------------------------------------------ Birds per Number of inspector Line configuration \1\ inspection per stations minute------------------------------------------------------------------------6-1.............................................. 1 2512-1............................................. 2 2312-2............................................. 2 2118-1............................................. 3 1918-2............................................. 3 1918-3............................................. 3 1824-1............................................. 4 16\1/2\24-2............................................. 4 1624-4............................................. 4 15\1/2\------------------------------------------------------------------------\1\ Birds are suspended on the slaughter line at 6-inch intervals. The first number indicates the interval in inches between the birds that each inspector examines. The second number indicates how many of the birds presented, the inspector is to inspect, i.e., ``1'' means inspect every bird. ``4'' means inspect every fourth bird, etc.
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[47 FR 23435, May 28, 1982, as amended at 66 FR 22905, May 7, 2001] § 381.68 Maximum inspection rates—New turkey inspection system.
(a) The maximum inspection rates for one inspector New Turkey Inspection (NTI–1) and two inspector New Turkey Inspection (NTI–2) are listed in the table below. These line speeds are for lines using standard 9-inch shackles on 12-inch centers with birds hung on every shackle and opened with J-type or Bar-type opening cuts. Maximum rates for those establishments having varying configurations will be established by the Administrator but will not exceed those in the table. Neither the rates in the table nor those established for establishments with varying configurations shall be exceeded under any circumstances.
(b) There are two categories of turkeys for determining inspection rates, “light turkeys” and “heavy turkeys”. Light turkeys are all turkeys weighing less than 16 pounds. Heavy turkeys are all turkeys weighing 16 pounds or more. The weights refer to the bird at the point of post-mortem inspection, with blood, feathers and feet removed.
(c) The inspector in charge may reduce inspection line rates when in his/her judgment the prescribed inspection procedure cannot be adequately performed within the time available because the health conditions of a particular flock dictate a need for a more extended inspection.
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Maximum Turkey Inspection Rates---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Birds/Minute ------------------------------------------------------ Line Number of J-Type Bar-Type Inspection system configuration inspectors ------------------------------------------------------ (<16#) (>16#)\1\ (<#) (>16#)\1\) light heavy light heavy----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------NTI-1........................ 12-1 1 32 30 25 21NTI-2........................ \2\ 24-2 2 51 41 45 35----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\1\ This weight refers to the bird at the point of post-mortem inspection, without blood, feathers, or feet.\2\ The turkeys are suspended on the slaughter line at 12-inch intervals, with two inspectors each looking at alternating birds at 24-inch intervals.
