Section 16-19-200. Additional requirements for sanitary operation of custom slaughtering establishments.

Custom slaughtering establishments must have:

(1) Hot water of sufficient temperature in sufficient quantity to thoroughly clean and sanitize all equipment subject to contamination from dressing or handling of diseased carcasses. For the purpose of this section "sufficient temperature" means at least 160°F for cleaning purposes and 180°F for purposes of sanitizing. If an approved chemical sanitizing agent is used in the sanitizing step, a temperature of 160°F is considered adequate.

(2) Properly located sanitizing facilities of approved construction and of sufficient size for complete immersion of butcher tools, and other implements must be provided in the slaughter room and at any other place where the operation is likely to result in the contamination of such equipment and utensils. Such receptacles must have means of heating the water contained therein to 180°F and maintaining it at that temperature during the entire operation. The sanitizers must be designed so that they can be drained after each day's use.

(3) Inedible and condemned storage and handling facilities.

(a) Adequate facilities for sanitary handling and storage of inedible offal and for sanitizing equipment in which inedible materials were transported must be provided, including one or more properly located enclosed rooms. Hot and cold water must be provided at outlets in or adjacent to the inedible handling room. The necessary doors connecting inedible storage rooms with rooms where edible products are handled must be metal clad, self-closing and tight fitting.

(b) A separate refrigerated room capable of maintaining a temperature of 45°F or less must be provided for the storage of inedible material at plants that store such material for a period longer than twenty-four hours. Such rooms must be of sanitary construction and must have impervious floors, walls and ceilings. The floors must be watertight, properly sloped and provided with drains leading to the plant sewage disposal system.

(c) All tanks and equipment used for rendering or preparing inedible meat must be in rooms or compartments separate from those used for rendering or preparing edible products.

(4) The slaughter floor must be kept reasonably free of blood, fat, scraps, etc. Water must not be permitted to splash from the floor upon unprotected carcasses on the bed or on the half hoist. The bed must be reasonably clean before the carcass is lowered. Clean watertight metal containers in good repair and free from objectionable odors must be provided at convenient locations for the reception of feet, tails, ears, pizzles, or other inedible material. Evisceration must be performed so as to avoid contamination of the carcass with ingesta or fecal material.

(5) Carcasses must be washed with water under pressure from a spray nozzle. Towels, rags, cloths, brushes of any kind, or water dipped out of a drum or containers must not be used. Metal drums of containers of water must not be used for washing hands, tools, or parts of carcasses, or for flushing the floor. A carcass that has been contaminated by manure or by pus must have the contaminated portion removed by trimming before being washed.

(6) Inedible material must not be placed on the slaughter room floor and must be kept in suitable watertight containers or vehicles until removed from the slaughter room.

(7) Skinned beef, calf and vealer heads must not be permitted to come in contact with the floor. The horns, hornbutts, muzzles, and all pieces of hide must be removed before the head is washed. If the meat from the head is to be saved, the head must be thoroughly washed individually, and flushed in a head flushing cabinet. This must include a thorough flushing of the mouth, nostrils, and pharynx while the head is hanging in an inverted position.

(8) In removing the front feet of cattle and calves, care should be taken to expose as little of the flesh of the foreshank as possible.

(9) Calves of such size that there is not a clearance of at least eight inches above the floor, or whose viscera cannot be transported manually and unaided to the inedible room, must be skinned and eviscerated as cattle.

(10) Calves dressed hide-on must be thoroughly washed and cleaned prior to making any incision into the carcass other than the sticking wound, except the heads of calves and vealers slaughtered in the "Kosher" method should be skinned prior to washing the carcasses.

(11) In slaughtering lambs and sheep, the pelt must be removed and the carcass thoroughly washed and cleaned before any incision is made for evisceration. Adequate care must be taken to prevent soilage of the carcass when removing the pelt.

(12) Hog carcasses must be thoroughly washed, cleaned, and singed (when necessary) to remove all hair, scale, scurf, dirt and toenails on the slaughtering floor before any incision is made other than the sticking wound. The forefeet need not be cleaned if discarded in the slaughtering room. Hog heads left on the carcass or saved intact must be thoroughly washed and flushed (nostrils, mouth and pharynx) and have ear tubes and eyelids removed.

(13) Paunches must not be opened in the slaughtering room, except when a power operated paunch lift table is provided for this purpose.

(14) Carcasses must be removed from the slaughter room to the chill cooler immediately after dressing and washing is completed. Improperly washed or unclean carcasses must not be brought into the coolers.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 16.49.680. WSR 99-12-021, § 16-19-200, filed 5/24/99, effective 6/24/99.]

RCW 16.49.680. WSR 99-12-021, § 16-19-200, filed 5/24/99, effective 6/24/99.