Annex G: Guideline on meat and poultry meat product categorization

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• I – Introduction These are hyperlinked with bookmarks within this document
• II – Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) categorization
  • a) Process category
  • b) Product category (with applicable species)
  • c) Product group
  • d) Table on product categorization

I – Introduction

The Species designations Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is using for Public Health Information Services (PHIS) are: for Meat: beef, veal, goat, lamb, and pork; for Poultry: chicken, turkey, duck, geese, guineas, and squab, including for Ratites: emu, ostrich, and rhea. For each product, the certification must indicate which species is predominant in the product to assure the appropriate regulations are applied to the product when applicable.

To help foreign exporters and governments accurately identify eligible meat and poultry products intended for export to the United States, FSIS has published an updated Product Categorization guide on the Agency's website (PDF – 184 kb).

The Guide (see section II) aligns closely with product categorization in PHIS and includes all species that are now under FSIS jurisdiction.

The guide outlines the three levels of product description required by FSIS on official inspection certification for each shipment of imported meat and poultry products:

Process category: For imported product, process categories are used as high-level groupings that identify whether and how products are further processed after the slaughter operation. Thus, "slaughter" would not be a correct process category for imported product. For example, the process category "Raw product – Non-intact" applies to establishments that use further processing steps such as grinding, comminuting, injecting product with solutions, or mechanical tenderization by needling, cubing, pounding devices or other means of creating non-intact product.

Product category: Product categories are a more specific classification, linked to the appropriate species for each category. For example, a product category for beef or veal species is "Raw ground, comminuted, or otherwise non-intact beef."

Product group: Product groups further define the product to a level of specificity that FSIS can program appropriate types of inspections (TOI) in PHIS for examinations and laboratory sampling. "Beef patty product" is an example of a product group.

Because of the length of some process categories and product categories, FSIS accepts easily-identifiable abbreviations or acronyms for either product or process categories on official inspection certification. However, if the official inspection certification does not include product categorization (process category, product category, and product group) that is consistent with the guide, replacement certification is required to proceed with import re-inspection.

II – FSIS Product categorization

FSIS has developed this document to assist with accurate identification of the meat and poultry products certified for export to the United States.

a) Process category

There are nine (9) process categories identified in 9CFR 417.2(b). Of the nine (9) listed, Slaughter is considered an internal process that occurs in establishments where the animals or birds are slaughtered. This category is not used for imported products.

Note that FSIS has recently renamed two process categories: Raw product – Ground and raw product – Not ground are now referred to as raw product – non-intact and raw product – Intact, respectively. However, use of either terminology will be acceptable to FSIS.

Note that official foreign inspection certificates should reflect the process category name, rather than the obsolete coding previously used by FSIS (for example 03B, 03C, etc.). These codes have been included in the table as some countries previously certified the process categories on the inspection certificates with this coding.

1. Raw product – Non-intact: This process category applies to establishments that further process by using processing steps such as grinding, comminuting, injecting product with solutions, or mechanical tenderization by needling, cubing, pounding devices or other means of creating non-intact product. Examples of finished products in this category include raw products reconstructed into formed entrees, mechanically separated species and advanced meat recovery product. If the establishment produces bench trim or pieces of meat produced from non-intact meat, then the bench trim or pieces are also considered non-intact.
2. Raw product – Intact: FSIS considers raw products to be intact unless they have undergone any of the processes associated with the Raw product – Non-intact process category.
3. Thermally processed – Commercially sterile: This process category applies to establishments that use a thermal processing step. Thermally processed, commercially sterile finished products are products in cans or flexible containers such as pouches, or semi-rigid, as in lunch bowls. Thermally processed, commercially sterile products are addressed in Subpart G, 318.300 – 311 for meat food products, and Subpart X, 381.300 to 311, for poultry products.
4. Not heat treated – Shelf stable: This process category applies to establishments that further process by curing, drying, or fermenting processing step as the sole means by which product achieves food safety. Establishments in this process category may apply a low-level heat treatment as long as the heat treatment is not used as means to achieve food safety. The finished products produced under this process categories are shelf stable. FSIS does not require shelf stable products to be frozen or refrigerated for food safety purposes.
5. Heat treated – Shelf stable: This process category applies to establishments that further process by using a heat treatment processing step to achieve food safety in combination with curing, drying, or fermenting processing step to achieve food safety. The finished products produced under this process category are shelf stable. FSIS does not require shelf stable products to be frozen or refrigerated for food safety purposes. If the establishment produces using the processing steps applicable under this process category and the product is not shelf stable, then establishment is producing product under the process category Fully cooked – Not shelf stable.
6. Fully cooked – Not shelf stable: This process category applies to establishments that further process products by using primarily a full lethality heat process step (for example cooking) to achieve food safety. The finished products that establishments produce under this process category are not shelf stable. FSIS requires the products to be frozen or refrigerated for food safety purposes. These products also meet the definition of Ready to Eat (RTE) as defined in 9 CFR 430.1.

7. Heat treated but not fully cooked – Not shelf stable: This process category applies to an establishment that further processes products that are (1) not ready-to-eat products (NRTE) or (2) raw otherwise processed products that are refrigerated or frozen throughout the product's shelf life. Meat and poultry products are produced using a heat process that meets one of the following criteria:

   1. The heat processing step is not adequate to achieve food safety. Products may be partially cooked or heated to set batter on a raw product.
   2. The heat processing step applied to meat or poultry component was adequate to achieve food safety, however product is further processed, assembled, or packaged so that cooked meat or poultry products contacts non-ready to-eat product ingredients. In this case, the final product is in a form that is not edible without additional preparing to achieve food safety. An example of this product is pot pie product that contains cooked chicken and raw dough.

   Note

   This category may also include products that receive a full lethality treatment but there is no standard of identity defining them as fully cooked (for example, hotdogs or barbecue) or a common or usual name that consumers understand to refer to RTE product (for example, pates).

8. Products with secondary inhibitors – Not shelf stable: This process category applies to establishments that further process by using a curing processing step or a processing step using other ingredients that inhibit bacterial growth. These products are generally refrigerated or frozen throughout the product's shelf life. Depending on the process and ingredients, these products may or may not meet the definition of RTE as defined in 9 CFR 430.1.

b) Product category (with applicable species)

The product categories are shown in the FSIS product categorization table with the appropriate species indicated for each.

The species designations FSIS is using for PHIS are: for meat: beef, veal, pork, lamb, and goat; for poultry: chicken, turkey, duck, goose, guinea, and squab, including for ratites: emu, ostrich, and rhea. For each product, the certification must indicate which species is predominant in the product to assure the appropriate regulations are applied to the product when applicable.

c) Product group

The product group defines the product down to a level that FSIS can program appropriate types of inspections (TOI) for examinations and laboratory sampling. While these appear to be self-explanatory, for raw product – intact, cuts are cuts of meat that are below the primal and subprimal level (for example, food service/retail cuts such as steaks, or chops).

The following table displays the process categories and the types of finished products that can be present in a process category.

Ready to Eat applies to any product intended for human consumption without further preparation steps.

RTE fully cooked means that the products have been sufficiently cooked so that they are safe to eat as they are, with no further preparation required by the consumer.

Some frozen RTE products require reheating for palatability. These frozen products are still safe to eat without this further preparation by the consumer and are therefore still considered RTE. Some examples include: fully cooked hams, cooked beef, roast beef, pastrami, corned beef, hot dogs, meat loaves, meat and poultry salads, sliced luncheon meats, baked chicken, frozen entrees, and poultry rolls.

Fresh or frozen entrees with fully cooked meat or poultry portions combined with fully cooked sauces, vegetables, pasta, or other ingredients are RTE products. These products are designed to be re-heated by the consumer, and may include instructions for re-heating.

Not Ready to Eat applies to products with cooking instructions or labelled with statements on the principal display panel such as "cook thoroughly, cook and serve, Not Ready to Eat, or For safety and quality- follow these cooking instructions." These products are considered NRTE. Certain NRTE products are required to bear safe handling instructions (SHI).

Some NRTE finished products are heat treated but are not fully cooked. These NRTE products are required to have sufficient labelling information to inform the consumer that the product must be cooked for safety. This information may be contained within the product name on the principal display panel, and may contain cooking instructions that refer to cooking the product for safety rather than heating the product for best quality. The product often times may bear a safe handling instruction.

Some NRTE finished products are prepared with both meat/poultry components that have received a lethality treatment in combination with non-meat/poultry components that need to receive a lethality treatment. These multi-component products, for example, meals, dinners, and entrees, have labelling features which are conspicuous so that intended users are fully aware that the product must be cooked for safety. The principle display panel on the label defines these products, for example, "cook and serve, "must be thoroughly cooked," cook before eating", and the product must include cooking instructions when required.

d) Table on product categorization