USDA 

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United State Food Safety Office of Chicago District Office 

Department of and Inspection Field Operations 1919 S. Highland Ave. Suite 115C 

Agriculture Service Lombard, IL 60148 

Office (630) 317-1293 

March 11, 2024 

Herscher Halal Meat Locker HAND DELIVERED on 03/11/2024 

Est. M47553 ELECTRONIC MAIL on 03/11/2024 

11260 W. State Route 115 FEDEX TRACKING #775479558994 

Herscher, IL 60941 

herscherhalalmeatlocker@gmail.com 

(708) 712-0877 

Attention: Mr. Azme Taha, Owner 

NOTICE OF SUSPENSION HELD IN ABEYANCE 

This letter confirms verbal notification provided to you by Dr. Donald Fickey, District Manager, on March 

11, 2024, of the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS) decision to place the Notice of Suspension 

(NOS) issued to your establishment on March 8, 2024, into abeyance. This action is based on the review, 

analysis, and acceptance of your proposed corrective actions and preventive measures submitted to the FSIS 

Chicago District Office on March 8 and 9, 2024. 

Background 

On March 8, 2024, your establishment was notified of the FSIS decision to withhold the marks of inspection 

and suspend the assignment of inspection program personnel (IPP) from your slaughter process at Herscher 

Halal Meat Locker, establishment M47553, located at 11260 W. State Route 115 in Herscher, Illinois. This 

action was based on your establishment’s failure to effectively implement humane methods of slaughtering 

and handling animals in a manner that complies with the requirements prescribed by the Federal Meat 

Inspection Act (FMIA) and the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1978 (HMSA). Your establishment 

was in violation of Title 9 of the Code of Federal Regulations (9 CFR), Section 313.15(a)(1) and 

313.15(b)(1)(iv). The Rules of Practice, 9 CFR 500.3(b), specify that FSIS may issue a suspension without 

providing prior notification if an establishment is observed to be handling or slaughtering animals 

inhumanely. You were provided a written copy of the NOS. 

Within the NOS, the FSIS Chicago District Office requested that you submit a written response with 

corrective actions and preventive measures to address the following: 

• Evaluate and identify the nature and cause of the incident. 

• Describe the specific actions taken to eliminate the cause of the incident and prevent future 

recurrences. 

• Describe specific monitoring activities planned to ensure future compliance. 

• Provide any supporting documentation and records maintained and/or associated with the proposed 

corrective actions and preventive measures. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Azme Taha, Owner Notice of Suspension Held in Abeyance 

Herscher Halal Meat Locker, Est. M47553 March 11, 2024 

Corrective Actions 

On March 8, 2024, the FSIS Chicago District Office received your initial written response as requested. 

After a review and analysis, the District Veterinary Medical Specialist (DVMS) notified your establishment 

on March 9, 2024, via e-mail, that additional details and clarifications were requested. Later that same day, 

you provided a revised response to include the additional details requested. 

You identified that an employee who had not received training for the captive bolt gun, quickly and 

voluntarily took the gun and stunned the animal in the wrong spot. 

You proposed the following corrective actions and preventive measures as a means to restore and maintain 

regulatory compliance as required: 

1. Only properly trained and authorized employees are allowed to touch or use a captive bolt gun. You 

identified three individuals that are authorized to use the captive bolt gun at this time. 

2. The manager held a meeting with all employees and informed them that no one, except the trained 

and authorized individuals, is allowed to use the captive bolt gun. The manager further reviewed all 

the effective stunning procedures, how to use the captive bolt gun, how to make sure that the 

stunning device was effective, and what to do if the first attempt was not correct. You provided 

documentation of this meeting. 

3. The captive bolt gun will be kept in a plastic container with cartridges with a paper sign that states 

“only authorized employees can use it.” 

4. The trained employees are aware of the signs of unconsciousness. They are aware of making sure 

to have extra cartridges once they stun the animals in case of an ineffective stunning attempt. The 

stunning operators were retrained using materials from Dr. Temple Grandin, Humane Slaughter 

Association, and FSIS. Training materials and documentation of the training session were provided. 

5. The manager on duty will monitor every time the captive bolt gun is determined to be needed for 

the slaughter process to ensure that all measures are done properly. The manager will observe if the 

stunning is effective on the first attempt and if any corrective actions are needed. The manager will 

make sure that only trained and authorized employees use the stunning equipment. The monitoring 

findings will be documented on the form provided. 

After a review and analysis of your proposed corrective actions, the FSIS Chicago District Office has 

concluded that these activities, provided they are successfully implemented, will serve to adequately address 

the regulatory requirements identified within the NOS. 

Summary and Conclusion 

This letter serves as written notification that FSIS is placing the suspension of the assignment of IPP at your 

establishment into abeyance. The abeyance will remain in effect until your proposed corrective actions 

have been verified to be successfully implemented on a consistent and continuous basis. The corrective 

actions you proposed will be subject to verification by FSIS IPP. These verification activities will serve to 

assess the implementation of the corrective actions and the requirement to maintain compliance with the 

FMIA, HMSA, and all applicable FSIS regulations. 

FSIS is committed to monitoring establishments’ operations to verify compliance with the regulatory 

requirements. To assist in those verification activities as a contingency of abeyance, FSIS has developed a 

Verification Plan Report (VPR) based on your corrective actions. The VPR will be completed by FSIS IPP 

as a means to document the implementation of the corrective actions throughout the abeyance period. The 

VPR identifies specific elements of your corrective actions and the associated regulatory requirements. 
Mr. Azme Taha, Owner Notice ofSuspension Held in Abeyance 

Herscher Halal Meat Locker, Est. M47553 March 11 , 2024 

These will be subject to verification until FSIS has made the detennination that your establishment has 

effectively implemented these conective actions. Additionally, during the abeyance period, humane 

handling verification visits (HHVV) will be conducted at 30-day inte1vals to assess your progress in 

implementing the conective actions. FSIS verification includes the expectation that you meet any time 

associated commitments identified within your proposal. Should your establishment fail to operate in 

accordance with these commitments or fail to comply with the regulato1y requirements, FSIS will take 

immediate and appropriate regulato1y control actions. 

You are reminded that as an operator ofa federally inspected facility, you are expected to fully comply with 

all FSIS regulations and to take appropriate conective actions to prevent the inhumane treatment and 

slaughter of livestock. The HMSA, Sections 1901, 1902, and 1906, state that the slaughtering and handling 

of livestock are to be caITied out only by humane methods. 9 CFR 313 contains the FSIS regulato1y 

requirements that were promulgated based on the HMSA and the FMIA. It is fully expected that you comply 

with the HMSA, FMIA, and the regulato1y requirements of Pa1i 313, and that you cany out each of the 

conective and preventive actions you proposed in response to the egregious incident. Failure to comply 

could result in the reinstatement of suspension at your facility or other appropriate administrative or legal 

actions. We urge your cooperation and volunta1y compliance. 

Ifyou have questions re this matter, you may contact , District Veterinaiy Medical 

Specialist (DVMS), at , or you may contact this office at (630) 317-1293. 

Sincerely, 

Digitally s~ned by DONALD DONALD FICKEY 

Date: 2024.03.1 1 FICKEY 07:26:09 -OSW 

Dr. Donald B. Fickey 

District Manager 

FSIS Chicago District