Chapter 19 – Poultry Inspection Programs

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19.6 Post Mortem Inspection/Examination

Operators of poultry slaughtering establishments may choose to operate under the following methods of post mortem inspection:

• Traditional inspection; and
• Modernized Poultry Inspection Program (MPIP)

The MIR refer to MPIP as a "post mortem examination program."

It is the responsibility of the operator to ensure that all carcasses and parts are presented for post mortem examination in such a way as to permit proper inspection, providing adequate facilities.

Condemned or rejected meat products shall be handled in accordance with Chapter 3 of this manual.

19.6.1 Traditional Inspection Method for Poultry

All classes of poultry may be inspected under traditional inspection.

Under traditional inspection, a CFIA inspector inspects the carcass exterior, the abdominal cavity and the corresponding viscera of each carcass. Only one (1) station is permitted for operators of newly registered poultry abattoirs under traditional inspection.

Operators shall provide one (1) or more competent plant employees, referred to as a helper, who shall be positioned next to each inspector. As directed by the inspector, the helper shall:

• remove identified carcasses and corresponding viscera from the evisceration line for veterinary examination or for disposal;
• remove carcasses with processing defects for off-line salvaging or reprocessing (refer to section 19.5.2 of this chapter);
• recording the reason for rejecting each carcass as instructed by the CFIA inspector; and
• trim abnormal localized conditions and correct minor dressing errors.

Operators wishing to remove condemned poultry legs not under the direct supervision of the post mortem inspectors shall submit a proposal to the Veterinarian in Charge as per section 19.5.5.3 of this chapter.

19.6.1.1 Traditional Presentation Standards

19.6.1.1.1 Introduction

These traditional presentation standards are to be used for the presentation of carcasses and viscera under the traditional method of inspection.

Consistent post mortem presentation is a must in order to ensure optimal inspection efficiency for all classes of poultry. Therefore, carcasses presented for post mortem inspection shall be hung in such a way as to facilitate the examination of the external surfaces, the internal cavity, the internal organs and the viscera.

19.6.1.1.2 General Requirements

19.6.1.1.2.1 Operator's Responsibilities

The operator is responsible for providing consistently adequate presentation of carcasses for inspection. Therefore the operator must:

• train and assign plant employees in the proper presentation of carcasses for inspection; and
• provide adequate facilities as specified in Chapter 3 of this manual.

19.6.1.1.2.2 CFIA Responsibilities

The inspection staff monitors presentation compliance by performing presentation tests at each inspection station and on each evisceration line, and take appropriate action when the presentation standards are not met.

The inspection staff must:

• carry out the test required to assess the presentation of carcasses for inspection; and
• communicate test results and any requirements for corrective measures to appropriate plant personnel.

19.6.1.1.3 Defects Associated with Improper Presentation

19.6.1.1.3.1 Defects Monitored by the Presentation Standards

19.6.1.1.3.1.1 Outside Carcass Errors

• Front or Side (weight of 11)
  Carcasses arriving other than with back towards the inspector.
• Hung By One Leg (weight of 9)
  Carcasses arriving with both legs not properly suspended in the shackle.
• Carcasses Swinging (weight of 6)
  Carcasses arriving with sufficient swinging motion to interfere with the inspection process. Excessive swing is defined as movements at 30 degrees or more to the chain and away from the inspector.
• Viscera Not Uniform (weight of 6)
  Carcasses arriving with viscera on the opposite side of normal presentation or in the middle of the abdominal opening.
• Contaminated Viscera (weight of 6)
  Carcasses arriving with contaminated viscera requiring the inspector to wash his/her hands.
• Viscera Below Wing (weight of 12)
  Carcasses arriving with the heart and/or the liver (and/or not the spleen in the case of birds over 8 weeks) below the wing breast joint.
• Viscera Not Free (weight of 10)
  Carcasses arriving with viscera not adequately separated from the abdominal fat pad and suspended alongside the carcass. If only a cross strip of fat is present, it will be considered that the viscera are free.
• Viscera in Shackle (weight of 8)
  Carcasses arriving with visceral organs hung in shackle.
• Out of Sequence (weight of 15) Carcasses arriving on guide bar out of sequence for the inspection station due to kick-out malfunction or missing the kick-out.
• No Viscera (weight of 20)
  Carcasses arriving without viscera. Those carcasses arriving with one or two organs, i.e., heart and/or liver (and/or the spleen in the case of birds over 2.7 kg.) missing, will be scored with a weight of 5.

19.6.1.1.3.1.2 Inside Carcass Errors

• Membrane (weight of 2)
  Carcasses arriving with the inside cavity obstructed by the air sac membrane from viscera to cavity.
• Opening Cut (weight of 1)
  Carcasses arriving with inside cavity obstructed by an inadequate opening cut. This includes cross strips of skin, the anus or cloaca still in the carcass or any other obstacle to appropriate inspection located in the area of the opening cut. It has been found that a cut made within 2 cm (3 cm for turkeys) to the point of the keel is an adequate opening.
• Not Reflected (weight of 2)
  Carcasses arriving with the viscera not reflecting the appropriate abdominal flap.
• Parts Inside (weight of 1)
  Carcasses arriving with one or more of the visceral organs* left in the cavity.

  *For Fowl hearts only, three or more occurrences of "Parts Inside" will not be considered an error.

• Contamination Inside (weight of 6)
  Carcasses arriving with contamination occurring on the inside surfaces of the carcass.
• Mutilation (weight of 2)
  Carcasses arriving with internal mutilation caused by the vent or evisceration equipment.

19.6.1.1.3.1.3 Line Speed

Each carcass per minute exceeding the current maximum equals one error with a weight of 5.

19.6.1.1.3.2 Other Defects Controlled by the HACCP System

The following categories of carcasses will be hung-back by the presenter or the inspector's helper for correction and post-mortem inspection. These other defects shall be controlled by the operator as part of the operator's written HACCP system. No error will be recorded on a presentation check for these defects.

In the case of a recurrence, the operator will be notified and 5 demerit points will be recorded on the "Defects Log: Traditional Presentation Standard" for each subsequent defect. These other defects are as follows:

• Not Opened – Carcasses arrives at the inspection station with no opening cut made in the carcass;
• Not Drawn – Carcass arrives at the inspection station with opening cut made but with viscera insufficiently drawn to permit inspection; or
• Two Legs Out of Shackle – Carcass arrives at inspection station hung by the neck or wing.

19.6.1.1.4 Presentation Monitoring by CFIA Personnel

19.6.1.1.4.1 Sampling Method

Each test (random tests and retests) consists of two separate 10 carcass observations, one for outside errors and the second for inside errors.

The sampling must be done to avoid sample bias. Randomly select a carcass by picking one, then count a predetermined number of carcasses, e.g., third one, and then examine this carcass and corresponding viscera. This carcass shall be the first one of the sample.

Repeat the procedure for each subsequent carcass until the required number is examined.

The outside of 10 carcasses per station will be checked for any of the listed outside errors. This test will be conducted off-line with the person conducting the test standing behind and between the presenter and the inspector. Each error observed will be recorded on the "Defect Log: Traditional Presentation Standard" form included in Annex A of this chapter.

Then at the same station, but with the person doing the test standing on line between the presenter and the inspector, 10 additional carcasses will be observed for listed inside errors. Each error observed will be recorded on the "Defect Log: Traditional Presentation Standard" included in Annex A of this chapter.

The last part of all checks is the line speed check.

The outside and inside errors are converted to a weighted score, and added to any line speed error to determine the total non-conformance for each inspection station.

19.6.1.1.4.2 Sampling Frequency

The frequency of presentation checks on each eviscerating line is once per half shift. The frequency can be reduced to once per line/shift with growing confidence in the operational compliance. The frequency can also be increased with loss of confidence.

19.6.1.1.4.3 Aggregate Results and Actions Required

During a random sampling:

• If any weighted non-conformance total is 25 through 39, or 3 or more of the same presentation errors occur, the operator is required to take immediate corrective action within 10 minutes before a retest of the affected station;
• If any test result has a total non-conformance weight of 40 or more, the line speed must be reduced by 10% immediately, corrective actions implemented and a retest conducted within 10 minutes. The increment used for the line speed increase is equivalent to the increment used for line speed reduction.

During a retest:

• If any retest total is 25 or more, or 3 or more of the same presentation errors occur, the line speed must be reduced by 10% immediately, corrective actions implemented, and a retest conducted within minutes;
• Line speed reductions of 10% continue on each retest until a total of 24 or less and 2 or less of any one error is achieved or until the third line speed reduction in a row for presentation has taken place; or
• Line speeds will be increased by allowed increments to the maximum speed permitted only after presentation control is satisfactory (24 or less and 2 or less incidences of the same errors) has been demonstrated. When line speeds are increased, process control must again be demonstrated for this station at the higher line speed as soon as possible and not more than 10 minutes after each increase.

When three consecutive line speed reductions for presentation non-conformance on one line do not result in acceptable presentation on that line, the VIC must:

• evaluate the presentation problem;
• determine the effect the presentation problem is having on post mortem inspection and operational sanitation; and
• determine acceptable presentation at less than 70% of optimum line speed.

Each element of the process control and their interaction are explained below and are presented in the decision tree.

The MIR have precedence over the presentation decision tree (corrective measure(s) can be mandated at any time by the VIC).

19.6.1.1.4.4 Records

Because of shift to shift and day to day differences in plant staffing and supervision, the presentation results of each shift and each production day will be independent of all other presentation results. There will be a new presentation form and a new start for each station, each shift and each production day.

A sample Traditional Presentation Standards monitoring form is available in Annex A of this chapter.

19.6.1.1.5 Traditional Presentation Standard Monitoring Decision Tree

Click on image for larger view

Traditional Presentation Standard Monitoring Decision Tree

19.6.1.2 Line Speeds for Traditional Inspection

Line speeds listed in the following table are the maximum line speeds which are permitted only under optimal conditions consistent with good presentation, average incidence of pathology (disease) and effective process control over trimming/dressing defects and evisceration accidents. Failure by the operator to take effective corrective action may result in line speed reductions imposed by the Veterinarian in Charge.

19.6.1.2.1 Maximum Line Speeds for Poultry Under Traditional Inspection

cpm: carcasses per minute; cph: carcasses per hour
* All weights refer to average live weight for the lot of poultry.
** For operators with two (2) operational post mortem inspection stations on the same evisceration line before January 2nd, 2005

These speeds represent the maximum number of carcasses that may pass by the inspection station every hour on the assumption that the line moves at a constant speed without stopping and that each shackle is full.

 

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