Commodity 1400 Independence Avenue, SW.

Procurement Room 3522, STOP S-0239

Staff Washington, DC 20250-0239

May 2013

AMENDMENT NO. 1

SUPPLEMENT 704 TO AMS MASTER SOLICITATION

PURCHASE OF CANNED MEAT FOR

DISTRIBUTION TO FEDERAL

FOOD AND NUTRITION PROGRAMS

This Amendment is issued in order to update Supplement 704 attachments, as follows:

1) Replace Attachment V with the attached Technical Requirements Schedule- Animal 

Handling and Welfare 2013 (TRS-AHW-2013), effective July 2013.

Note: TRS-AHW-2013 does not become effective until July 2013. The following 

information will clarify how the new requirements relate to contractor /supplier eligibility 

in AMS Commodity Procurement Programs (solicitations and contract awards):

a. Approved suppliers will remain eligible to participate in AMS Commodity 

Procurement Programs under TRS-AHW-2010 on any solicitation issued on or before 

June 30, 2013.

b. Meanwhile, approved suppliers (and, likewise, any supplier currently in the process of 

becoming approved) may address the animal welfare portion of their technical 

programs according to the updated TRS-AHW-2013, have it reviewed by LPS 

Program’s Food Safety and Commodity Specification (FSCS) Division, and approved 

pending a successful onsite capability assessment conducted by the LPS Program’s 

Grading and Verification Division (GVD). This will have no effect on their eligibility 

to bid during this period of time.

c. Approved suppliers must revise their technical programs according to the 

updated TRS-AHW-2013 and be re-approved before July 1, 2013, to be eligible 

to bid on any solicitations issued on or after that date.

All other terms and conditions remained unchanged.

Attachments
Approved by_________ CMS

Date Issued: 08/11/08 

Date Revised: 07/01/13

100 GENERAL 

101 This document is for use by the Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural 

Marketing Service (AMS), Livestock, Poultry and Seed (LPS) Program to ensure that the 

animal handling and welfare requirements for Federal nutrition assistance programs 

reflect industry best practices. 

110 PROGRAM APPROACH 

111 All animal harvest facilities that supply raw materials from bovine, porcine and ovine 

species for the production of AMS destined finished products must develop and 

implement a written program that is consistent with a systematic approach to humane 

animal handling and welfare as outlined in 69 FR 54625. The program will ensure proper 

animal handling and welfare techniques are conducted from the time the transportation 

conveyance enters the facility’s premises through the stunning and exsanguination of the 

animal. 

120 PROGRAM SUBMISSION 

121 The program will be submitted as a supporting document to the organization’s approved 

technical proposal and must address the requirements outlined in Section 200 – 

PROGRAM COMPONENTS.

200 PROGRAM COMPONENTS 

201 The contractor must ensure that any facility that harvests animals has a: 

210 MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT

211 Steering Committee (internal) which is ultimately accountable for animal handling and 

welfare initiatives within the organization. 

212 Mission Statement on animal handling and welfare that is distributed to all employees 

and conspicuously displayed at the premises. 

 

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS 

SCHEDULE – ANIMAL HANDLING AND 

WELFARE 2013 (TRS-AHW-2013) 

Contracting Officer Technical Representative (COTR) 

Livestock, Poultry and Seed Program 

Food Safety and Commodity Specification Division 

Room 2608 S-Bldg, Phone: (202) 260-8295

Effective: July 2013

SUPPLEMENT 704 TO AMS MASTER SOLICITATION ATTACHMENT V PAGE 1 OF 4
Approved by_________ CMS

Date Issued: 08/11/08 

Date Revised: 07/01/13 2

220 TRAINING PROGRAM 

221 Training program on Animal Handling and Welfare that:

221.1 is provided to all employees interacting with animals; 

221.2 covers the AMI Recommended Animal Handling Guidelines and Audit Guide 2012

Edition;

221.3 is facilitated by an employee that has earned and maintained a certification of animal 

handling and welfare training, such as that offered through the Professional Animal 

Auditor Certification Organization (PAACO) or an equivalent. 

221.4 is conducted no less frequently than once a year for each designated employee; and, 

221.5 requires signed documentation from each employee and confirmation by signature of the 

designated, certified trainer upon successful completion of training. 

230 QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLAN 

231 Written quality management plan (internal) which addresses all provisions of Chapter 3: 

Transportation Audit Guidelines, 7 Core Criteria and Chapter 4: Auditing Animal Handling 

and Stunning, 7 Core Criteria, of the AMI Recommended Animal Handling Guidelines 

and Audit Guide 2012 Edition, found at the following web site address: 

231.1 http://www.animalhandling.org/ht/d/sp/i/26752/pid/26752 

232 This internal quality management plan must also provide for routine assessment and 

monitoring of humane handling through the use of a numerical scoring system conducted 

by a trained employee.

240 NON-AMBULATORY AND U.S. SUSPECTS 

241 CATTLE 

242 Written protocol in-place and enforced that precludes the receipt of or having nonambulatory, disabled cattle on the harvest facility premise. In the event that animals 

become non-ambulatory or disabled at any time while present at the harvest facility, the 

animal will be humanely euthanized and the carcass removed from the premise in a 

timely manner through contracted services or other means. 

SUPPLEMENT 704 TO AMS MASTER SOLICITATION ATTACHMENT V PAGE 2 OF 4
Approved by_________ CMS

Date Issued: 08/11/08 

Date Revised: 07/01/13 3

243 HOGS AND SHEEP 

244 Written protocol in-place and enforced that ensures all animals designated by FSIS as 

U.S. Suspects (9 CFR 301.2) that are slaughtered are appropriately segregated during 

the harvest and production processes and precluded from inclusion in any products 

purchased by AMS. 

300 PROGRAM EVALUATION AND ELIGIBILITY 

301 The program will be audited (external) by AMS or a firm accredited by AMS. The 

accreditation of the firm will be conducted by the Grading and Verification Division (GVD) 

through the USDA ISO Guide 65 Program. Alternatively, at the option of the 

organization, the audits can be performed by GVD auditors. 

302 Audit findings thought to be in conflict with Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) 

regulations will be communicated to the establishment’s FSIS Inspector in Charge (IIC) 

or designee. 

310 AUDIT FORMAT 

311 AMS or the AMS accredited auditing firm will conduct audits utilizing the following format: 

312 TRANSPORTATION SEGMENT (CHAPTER 3: AMI RECOMMENDED ANIMAL 

HANDLING GUIDELINES AND AUDIT GUIDE 2012 EDITION) 

312.1 Audited organizations must pass Core Criteria 1 and 6 with a minimum scoring of 

excellent, Core Criteria 2 through 5 with a minimum scoring of acceptable and Core 

Criteria 7 must be adhered to with full compliance (zero tolerance) each time an audit is 

performed. 

313 ANIMAL HANDLING AND STUNNING SEGMENT (CHAPTER 4: AMI 

RECOMMENDED ANIMAL HANDLING GUIDELINES AND AUDIT GUIDE 2012 

EDITION) 

313.1 Audited firms must pass Core Criteria 1 through 5 with a minimum scoring of acceptable 

while Core Criteria 6 and 7 must be adhered to with full compliance (zero tolerance) each 

time an audit is performed. 

320 INITIAL AUDIT 

321 Initial audit must be performed prior to award of contracts. 

330 AUDIT FAILURE 

331 If an audit is failed for any of the Core Criteria, the organization is not eligible to provide 

product until such a time that corrective and preventative actions are approved by the 

COTR, implemented and proven effective. 

SUPPLEMENT 704 TO AMS MASTER SOLICITATION ATTACHMENT V PAGE 3 OF 4
Approved by_________ CMS

Date Issued: 08/11/08 

Date Revised: 07/01/13 4

340 AUDIT FREQUENCY AND STATUS 

341 STANDARD - Until four (4) consecutive successfully passed audits are attained, an audit 

must be conducted within 3 months of the previous audit. 

342 MONTHLY - If at any time an audit identifies any of the Core Criteria not meeting the 

pass requirements while in the STANDARD phase, auditing will be required to be 

conducted on a monthly basis once corrective and preventative actions have been 

approved by the COTR, implemented and proven effective. This schedule will be for a 

period of time until four (4) successive audits are found to meet the passing requirements 

noted in SECTION 310 – AUDIT FORMAT; at which time audits shall be conducted on 

the STANDARD basis. 

343 If four successfully conducted audits are sequentially completed within a one year period 

while in STANDARD auditing phase, the facility may move to a SEMI-ANNUAL audit 

basis. 

344 SEMI-ANNUAL - Semi-annual audits may continue until such time that a failed audit is 

reported or a period of greater than six months has elapsed without any audits being 

performed; at which time the audits must resume as described for STANDARD audits. 

400 COTR

401 The COTR can declare an organization’s Animal Handing and Welfare Program out of 

compliance at any time. 

SUPPLEMENT 704 TO AMS MASTER SOLICITATION ATTACHMENT V PAGE 4 OF 4