Pennsylvania Code › Title 7 - AGRICULTURE › Part I - Bureau of Animal Health and Diagnostic Services › Chapter 1 - MEAT HYGIENE › Subchapter I - ENTRY, REINSPECTION AND PREPARATION OF PRODUCTS › PREPARATION OF PRODUCTS › Section 1.334 - Treatment by curing

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a)
Sausage.
The sausage may be stuffed in animal casings,
					 hydrocellulose casings, or cloth bags. During any stage of treating the sausage
					 for the destruction of live trichinae, except as provided in Method 5, these
					 coverings shall not be coated with paraffin or like substance, nor shall any
					 sausage be washed during any prescribed period of drying. In the preparation of
					 sausage, one of the following methods may be used:
(1)
Method No. 1.
The meat
					 shall be ground or chopped into pieces not exceeding three-fourths of an inch
					 in diameter. A dry-curing mixture containing not less than 3 1/3 pounds of salt
					 to each hundredweight of the unstuffed sausage shall be thoroughly mixed with
					 the ground or chopped meat. After being stuffed, sausage having a diameter not
					 exceeding 3 1/2 inches, measured at the time of stuffing, shall be held in a
					 drying room not less than 20 days at a temperature not lower than 45°F,
					 except that in sausage of the variety known as pepperoni, if in casings not
					 exceeding 1 3/8 inches in diameter measured at the time of stuffing, the period
					 of drying may be reduced to 15 days. In no case, however, shall the sausage be
					 released from the drying room in less than 25 days from the time the curing
					 materials are added, except that sausage of the variety known as pepperoni, if
					 in casings not exceeding the size specified, may be released at the expiration
					 of 20 days from the time the curing materials are added. Sausage in casings
					 exceeding 3 1/2 inches, but not exceeding 4 inches in diameter at the time of
					 stuffing, shall be held in a drying room not less than 35 days at a temperature
					 not lower than 45°F, and in no case shall the sausage be released from the
					 drying room in less than 40 days from the time the curing materials are added
					 to the meat.
(2)
Method No.
					 2.
The meat shall be ground or chopped into pieces not exceeding
					 three-fourths of an inch in diameter. A dry-curing mixture containing not less
					 than 3 1/3 pounds of salt to each hundredweight of the unstuffed sausage shall
					 be thoroughly mixed with the ground or chopped meat. After being stuffed,
					 sausage having a diameter not exceeding 3 1/2 inches, measured at the time of
					 stuffing, shall be smoked not less than 40 hours at a temperature not lower
					 than 80°F, and finally held in a drying room not less than 10 days at a
					 temperature not lower than 45°F. In no case, however, shall the sausage be
					 released from the drying room in less than 18 days from the time the curing
					 materials are added to the meat. Sausage exceeding 3 1/2 inches, but not
					 exceeding 4 inches in diameter at the time of stuffing, shall be held in a
					 drying room, following smoking as indicated, not less than 25 days at a
					 temperature not lower than 45°F, but in no case shall the sausage be
					 released from the drying room in less than 33 days from the time the curing
					 materials are added to the meat.
(3)
Method No. 3.
The meat
					 shall be ground or chopped into pieces not exceeding three-fourths of an inch
					 in diameter. A dry-curing mixture containing not less than 3 1/3 pounds of salt
					 to each hundredweight of the unstuffed sausage shall be thoroughly mixed with
					 the ground or chopped meat. After admixture with the salt and other curing
					 materials and before stuffing, the ground or chopped meat shall be held at a
					 temperature not lower than 34°F for not less than 36 hours. After being
					 stuffed, the sausage shall be held at a temperature not lower than 34°F for
					 an additional period of time sufficient to make a total of not less than 144
					 hours from the time the curing materials are added to the meat, or the sausage
					 shall be held for the time specified in a pickle-curing medium of not less than
					 50° strength (salometer reading) at a temperature not lower than 44°F
					 Finally, sausage having a diameter not exceeding 3 1/2 inches, measured at the
					 time of stuffing, shall be smoked for not less than 12 hours. The temperature
					 of the smokehouse during this period at no time shall be lower than 90°F,
					 and for 4 consecutive hours of this period the smokehouse shall be maintained
					 at a temperature not lower than 128°F. Sausage exceeding 3 1/2 inches, but
					 not exceeding 4 inches in diameter at the time of stuffing shall be smoked,
					 following the prescribed curing, for not less than 15 hours. The temperature of
					 the smokehouse during the 15-hour period shall at no time be lower than
					 90°F, and for 7 consecutive hours of this period of smokehouse shall be
					 maintained at a temperature not lower than 128°F. In regulating the
					 temperature of the smokehouse for the treatment of sausage under this method,
					 the temperature of 128°F shall be attained gradually during a period of not
					 less than 4 hours.
(4)
Method No. 4.
The meat shall be ground or chopped into pieces
					 not exceeding one-fourth of an inch in diameter. A dry-curing mixture
					 containing not less than 2 1/2 pounds of salt to each hundredweight of the
					 unstuffed sausage shall be thoroughly mixed with the ground or chopped meat.
					 After admixture with the salt and other curing materials and before stuffing,
					 the ground or chopped sausage shall be held as a compact mass, not more than 6
					 inches in depth, at a temperature not lower than 36°F for not less than 10
					 days. At the termination of the holding period, the sausage shall be stuffed in
					 casings or cloth bags not exceeding 3 1/3 inches in diameter, measured at the
					 time of stuffing. After being stuffed, the sausage shall be held in a drying
					 room at a temperature not lower than 45°F for the remainder of a 35-day
					 period, measured from the time the curing materials are added to the meat. At
					 any time after stuffing, if the establishment operator deems it desirable, the
					 product may be heated in a water bath for a period not to exceed 3 hours at a
					 temperature not lower than 85°F, or subject to smoking at a temperature not
					 lower than 80°F, or the product may be both heated and smoked as specified.
					 The time consumed in heating and smoking however, shall be in addition to the
					 35-day holding period specified.
(5)
Method No. 5.
The meat
					 shall be ground or chopped into pieces not exceeding three-fourths of an inch
					 in diameter. A dry-curing mixture containing not less than 3 1/3 pounds of salt
					 to each hundredweight of the unstuffed sausage shall be thoroughly mixed with
					 the ground or chopped meat. After being stuffed, the sausage shall be held for
					 not less than 65 days at a temperature not lower than 45°F. The coverings
					 for sausage prepared according to this method may be coated at any stage of the
					 preparation before or during the holding period with paraffin or other
					 substance approved by the Department.