California Code of Regulations › Title 3 - Food and Agriculture › Division 2 - Animal Industry › Chapter 5 - Poultry Inspection › Subchapter 1 - General Provisions › Article 8 - Operations and Procedures › Section 1222 - Operations and Procedures to be Clean and Sanitary

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a)
					 Live poultry shall not be held or slaughtered and edible product shall not be
					 stored in any room where inedible product is kept.
(b) The following operations shall be
					 conducted only within separate rooms conforming with plant construction
					 requirements of section
					 1210 of these regulations: killing,
					 scalding, roughing, and skinning operations; and pinning, finishing,
					 evisceration, chilling, and packing operations for dressed poultry.
(c) Live poultry shall not be held in the
					 same room where pinning, finishing, evisceration, chilling and packing
					 operations are conducted. If live poultry are held in the same room where
					 killing, scalding, roughing, and skinning operations are conducted they shall
					 be located sufficiently away from these operations to prevent contamination of
					 the product.
(d) Poultry must be
					 slaughtered in accordance with good commercial practices in a manner that will
					 result in thorough bleeding of the carcasses and that will ensure that
					 breathing has stopped prior to scalding. Blood from the killing operation shall
					 be confined to a relatively small area and kept from being splashed about the
					 room.
(e) In finishing and cleaning
					 dressed poultry, feed shall be removed from the crop, the fecal material from
					 the cloaca shall be removed, and carcasses that are not free from vestigial
					 feathers shall be singed, and such operation shall be completed prior to or
					 during the final washing but prior to chilling and packaging of such dressed
					 poultry. Notwithstanding the foregoing, dressed poultry which is to be
					 eviscerated in an official establishment within 24 hours from time of slaughter
					 may, when approved by the Department, be transferred by conveyor or operational
					 type container or other approved means to such official establishment prior to
					 removal of the feed in the crop.
(f) The head of each dressed poultry carcass
					 shall be washed thoroughly to remove feed from the mouth and blood from the
					 head and mouth.
(g) In the final
					 washing, the dressed carcass shall be passed through a spray or system of
					 sprays providing an abundant supply of fresh clean water or under clean flowing
					 water utilizing a scrubbing action.
(h) Water spray washing equipment or running
					 water facilities with sufficient potable water to thoroughly and efficiently
					 wash carcasses shall be used for washing each carcass inside and out.
(i) The water used in washing the poultry
					 shall be permitted to drain freely from the body cavity.
(j) All offal resulting from the eviscerating
					 operation shall be removed from the processing area as often as necessary to
					 prevent the development of unsanitary conditions.
(k) Containers to be used for packaging
					 ready-to-cook poultry shall be clean, free from objectionable substances or
					 odors and of sufficient strength and durability to adequately protect the
					 product during the normal distribution. Ready-to-cook poultry, other than that
					 which is to be ice packed, shall be adequately drained to remove ice and free
					 water prior to packing and packaging.
(l) Used tubs, barrels, and boxes intended
					 for use as containers of any poultry meat or product shall be inspected prior
					 to use. Those showing evidence of misuse that makes them unfit to serve as
					 containers for food products shall be rejected. The use of those showing no
					 evidence of previous misuse may be allowed after they have been thoroughly and
					 properly cleaned.
(m) Dead Poultry
					 Carcasses.
(1) With the exception of dead
					 poultry that have died enroute and are received with poultry for slaughter at
					 an official establishment, no dead animal, poultry or wild fowl may be brought
					 on the premises of an establishment unless written advance permission therefor
					 is obtained from the Department.
(2) Under no circumstances shall the carcass
					 or parts of any domestic poultry which has died otherwise than by slaughter, or
					 was found on the premises in a dying condition, be brought into any room or
					 compartment in which any poultry meat is prepared, handled or
					 stored.