USDA 

iiiii United States Department of A~riculturE 

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 October 19, 2023 

FedEx Tracking: 7737 9520 6887 

Mr. Nicholas Phillps Vice President of Operations 

Copper City Meats DBA Gold Medal Packing (Est_ M-17965) 

8269 River Road 

Rome, New York 13440 

ll!@raiseamerican.com 

@ oppercitymeats.com 

@ ppercitymeats.com 

NOTICE OF SUSPENSION HELD IN ABEYANCE 

Dear Mr. Phillips, 

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

Service (FSIS) ofour decision to place the suspension action at Copper City 

Meats, Establishment Ml7965, located at 8301 River Road, Rome, New York 

13440 in abeyance. This letter follows verbal notification ofthe abeyance action, 

provided by Dr. Chelsea Buckley, Deputy District Manager (DDM) to Mr. 

Nicholas Phillps Vice President of Operations at approximately 1730 hours on 

Wednesday, October 18, 2023. 

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

Practice, Title 9 ofthe Code of Federal Regulations (9 CFR) Pa.ii 500.5 pa1i (e). 

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

conective actions and preventative measures on October 17, 2023. On October 

17, 2023, FSIS requested clai·ification on the responses. On October 18, 2023, 

you submitted responses to the clai·ification request which included con ective 

actions and program updates. 

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

1. T ennination ofthe offending employee 

2. Counseling and Retraining of all kill floor personnel with the 

following: 

a. Alchemy Training 

b. Humane Stunning Practices for Cattle 

c. Unloading and Receiving Cattle at Processing Facilities 

d. Proper Handling and Moving of Cattle 

3. Only trained employees will be allowed to handle live animals and 

paiiicipate in slaughter up to the bleeding step. See list oftrained 

personnel kept on file in plant office. 
Notice ofSuspension Held in Abeyance 

4. An in-house auditor ( one ofthe following: Plant Manager, Food Safety Manager, 

Quality Control, or Slaughter Supervisor) will monitor (observe) 25% of all 

animals from staii of operations to slaughter for the following. 

a. Handling ofsuspected disabled and disabled animals. 

b. Driving of animals. 

c. Paddles and alternate objects used. 

d. Food and water availability. 

e. Obse1vation of stunning and sticking. 

5. Staff and Management will undergo a training seminar on October 26, 2023, 

conducted by the UWRF Humane Handling Institute, to review and discuss 

humane handling issues and implementation of robust humane handling 

prograins. 

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 Prograin 

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

your proposed actions. The VP identifies your coITective actions based on your 

responses, the relevant regulato1y requirements, the tasks IPP will use to conduct 

verification activities, and the time frames that you identified. IPP will continue to ensure 

all humane handling/stunning regulato1y requirements of 9 CFR Pa1i 313 are in 

regulato1y 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 coITective actions and 

all applicable regulato1y requirements. Your establishment's failure to meet the 

conditions of this abeyance may result in additional regulato1y and/or administrative 

actions in accordance with the Rules ofPractice 9 CFR Paii 500. 

If you have any questions regarding this matter, please feel free to contact Dr. Chelsea 

Buckley, DDM, via electronic mail at chelsea.buckley@usda.gov or by telephone at 

(267) 807-7615. Additionally, you can conta.ct the Philadelphia District Office at (800) 

637-6681. 

Sincerely, 

Digitally signed by CHELSEA CHELSEA BUCKLEY 

Date: 2023.10.19 BUCKLEY 06:42:29 -04'00' 

Mr. Jason Orlando 

District Manager 

An Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer 
Notice ofSuspension Held in Abeyance 

Copper City Meats (EST Ml7965) Verification Plan 

October 19, 2023 

ESTABLISHMENT ACTION PLAN 9CFR 

REGULATION 

HUMANE 

HANDLING 

VERIFICATION 

CATEGORY 

FREQUENCY 

Only trnined employees will be allowed to 313.2 Category IV - Each calfslaughter 

handle live animals and pa1iicipate in 313.15 Ante-mortem day 

slaughter up to the bleeding step. See list of Handling 

trained personnel kept on file in plant office. Catego1y VIII -

Stunning 

effectiveness 

An in-house auditor ( one of the following: 

Plant Manager, Food Safety Manager, Quality 

Control, or Slaughter Supervisor) will monitor 

(observe) 25% of all animals from strut of 

operations to slaughter for the following. 

a. Handling of suspected disabled and 

disabled animals. 

b. Ddving ofanimals. 

c. Paddles and alternate objects used. 

d. Food and water availability. 

e. Observation of stunning and sticking. 

This will be recorded on GMP Humane 

Handling In-House Audit Fo1m 

313.2 

313.15 

Category IV -

Ante-mortem 

Handling 

Catego1y VIII -

Stunning 

effectiveness 

Each calfslaughter 

day 

Staff and Management will undergo a 

training semmar on October 26, 2023, 

conducted by the UWRF Humane Handling 

Institute, to review and discuss humane 

handling issues and implementation of robust 

humane handling programs. 

313 .2 

313 .15 

Category IV -

Ante-mortem 

Handling 

Catego1y VIII -

Stunning 

effectiveness 

Once after October 

26, 2023 

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

establishment's compliance with the humane handling regulatory requirements of9 CFR Part 313. 

*Inspection Program Personnel will ensure all humane handling/stunning regulatory requirements are complying 

daily on each slaughter day, regardless of the stunning method. 

*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. 

An Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer 
Notice ofSuspension Held in Abeyance 

CC: 

FSIS - FO/Quarterly Enforcement Repo1t 

Ms. Melissa Moore, EARO, FSIS, OFO, Washington D.C. 

Mr. Joseph Priore, RD, FSIS, OIEA, No1theast Region 

Mr. Jason Orlando, DM, FSIS, OFO, Philadelphia District Office 

Mr. Joseph Schein, DDM, FSIS, OFO, Philadelphia District Office 

Mr. George Slobodjian, DDM, FSIS, OFO, Philadelphia District Office 

Dr. Chelsea Buckle DDM, FSIS, OFO, Philadelphia District Office 

, DVMS, FSIS, OFO Philadelphia District Office 

, DVMS, FSIS, OFO Philadelphia District Office 

, DCS, FSIS, OFO, Philadelphia District Office 

SEIAO, FSIS, OFO, Philadelphia District Office 

FLS, FSIS, OFO, Philadelphia District 

, SPHV, FSIS, OFO, Philadelphia District 

Official Files Establishment Folder- Est. 17965 

An Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer