Food Safety and 

Inspection Service

Office of Field Operations

Philadelphia District 

Mellon Independence 

Center,

701 Market Street Suite 

4100-A 

Philadelphia, PA 19106

Electronically Submitted on May 17, 2023

FedEx Tracking:7721 7530 1173

May 17, 2023

Mr. Mark Zimmerman, Vice President

Hoffer’s Ligonier Valley Packing, inc. (Est. M4025)

582 Darlington Road

Ligonier, Pennsylvania 15658 

hofferpacking@gmail.com

(724) 238-7112 

NOTICE OF SUSPENSION HELD IN ABEYANCE

Attention: Mr. Zimmerman,

This letter serves as official notification by the Food Safety and Inspection 

Service (FSIS) of our decision to place the suspension action at Hoffer’s 

Ligonier Valley Packing, inc. (Est. M4025), located at 582 Darlington Road 

Ligonier, Pennsylvania 15658 in abeyance. This letter follows verbal notification 

of the abeyance action, provided by Mr. George Slobodjian, Deputy District 

Manager (DDM) to establishment management personnel, 

 at approximately 1505 hours on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. 

The decision to institute the abeyance was made in accordance with the Rules of 

Practice, Title 9 of the Code of Federal Regulations (9 CFR) Part 500.5 part (e). 

In response to the Notice of Suspension (NOS), you submitted proposed 

corrective actions and preventative measures on May 17, 2023. On May 17, 

2023, FSIS requested clarification to those responses. On May 17, 2023 you 

submitted responses to the clarification request(s) which included corrective

actions and program updates. 

Your corrective and preventative measures include but are not limited to:

1. Provided a copy of the “HLVP Robust Handling plan” with updates

that state:

a. 1 market hog will be brought to the stun box at a time to allow 

for proper head and chest stunning as well as timely shackling

and bleeding of the market hog. 

b. For swine, the captive bolt will be the secondary backup in case 

of electric stunner malfunction. The backup captive bolt shall be 

in a watertight box around the half wall by stun box (directly next 

to location of primary captive bolt (between stuns) and 

ammunition). This area is essentially located at the rear of stun

(b) (6) (b) (6)
An Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer

box with a block pillar separating the stun box from location of captive 

bolt guns. 6-8 feet from head of stun box. 

c. Roaster swine, under 100 pounds, classify as small animals and can still 

have more than one (roaster swine) in the stunning box. 

d. Unconsciousness: The stunner or bleeder shall check for unconsciousness 

on every stunned animal. Captive bolt stunned animals shall be checked 

for immediate fall to ground, corneal reflex, independent blinking, 

vocalization, and any attempt to right itself. Electrically stunned animals 

shall be checked for an immediate fall to ground following the electrical 

stun, no eye tracking or corneal response, the head is limp, no response to 

stimuli (touching on the sides), the animal, while potentially kicking, will 

not attempt to stand or have any coordinated movements. If there are signs 

of Returning to Consciousness, Immediate Corrective Action shall be 

taken, and the animal shall be given a Security Stun. 

2. Only employees trained in stunning shall operate stunning equipment AND hoist 

control during electric stunning. 

3. All swine will be head and chest stunned with the electrical stunning device.

4. Establishment will institute two (2) separate training logs, on an annual basis, one

(1) [training] will be for all employees who work the slaughter floor, which will 

be general humane handling procedures for moving animals through pens and in 

alley ways. The second will be for stunning personnel which at this time will 

include , Mark Zimmerman, and . Additional 

employees may be added to this list at another time. These are the only three (3) 

employees who have training and plant permission to stun and therefore to

operate bleed hoist during electric stunning. The reason for hoist control being 

limited to the above 3 employees during electric stunning is due to the specific 

monitoring that must be performed while electrically stunning. Therefore, if the 

stunner feels a security stun is required, he shall maintain control of the hoist from 

the time the animal is first stunned until the animal is bled.

FSIS has carefully reviewed your responses and made the decision to place the NOS in 

abeyance. FSIS has designed a Verification Plan (VP), and Inspection Program Personnel 

(IPP) will use it to monitor and verify that you have effectively implemented your 

proposed actions. The VP identifies your corrective actions based on your responses, the 

relevant regulatory requirements, the tasks IPP will use to conduct verification activities, 

and the times that you identified. IPP will continue to ensure all humane 

handling/stunning regulatory requirements of 9 CFR Part 313 are in regulatory 

compliance. We have attached a copy of the VP to assist you as a reference during the 

Agency’s verification activities.

A final decision relative to this enforcement action will be determined based on your 

establishment’s ability to execute and comply with your proffered corrective actions and 

all applicable regulatory requirements. Your establishment’s failure to meet the

(b) (6) (b) (6)
An Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer

conditions of this abeyance may result in additional regulatory and/or administrative 

actions in accordance with the Rules of Practice 9 CFR Part 500.

If you have any questions regarding this matter, please feel free to contact Mr. George 

Slobodjian, DDM, via electronic mail at george.slobodjian@usda.gov or by telephone at

(267) 807-7546. Additionally, you can contact the Philadelphia District Office at (800) 

637-6681or by fax at (215) 597-4217. 

Sincerely,

GEORGE 

SLOBODJIAN

Mr.Jason Orlando 

District Manager

Digitally signed by GEORGE 

SLOBODJIAN

Date: 2023.05.17 15:36:45 -04'00'

An Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer

eye tracking or corneal response, the head is 

limp, no response to stimuli (touching on the 

sides), the animal, while potentially kicking, 

will not attempt to stand or have any 

coordinated movements. If there are signs of 

Returning to Consciousness, Immediate 

Corrective Action shall be taken, and the 

animal shall be given a Security Stun.

5. Backup stunning equipment for market 

hogs is the electric stunner, with captive bolt 

gun as secondary backup. The captive bolt is 

immediately available to the stunning 

operator in case of electric stunner

malfunction

313.30

313.2

313.15

Category IX –

Conscious Animals 

on the Rail 

5. Upon 

implementation, 

May 18, 2023, and 

for each swine 

slaughtered

6. Only employees trained in stunning swine 

shall operate stunning equipment AND hoist 

control during electric stunning 

313.30

313.2

Category IX –

Conscious Animals 

on the Rail 

6. Upon 

implementation, 

May 18, 2023, and 

for each swine 

slaughtered

Humane handling verification every slaughter operation day to verify the adequacy and effectiveness of the establishment’s 

compliance with the humane handling regulatory requirements of 9 CFR Part 313.

*Inspection Program Personnel will review all monitoring, verification, and corrective action records to verify procedures 

are being conducted as prescribed and at the specified frequency.