Food-specific requirements and guidance – Meat products and food animals
Information
The information below focuses mainly on slaughtering activities, carcasses and their parts as a result of slaughtering activities and the welfare of food animals during slaughtering activities. Before you review this information, read the information on General food requirements and guidance. The Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) set out many requirements that apply across food commodities, along with the specific requirements highlighted here.
Additional requirements for Food imports and Food exports may apply also to your business.
Know the requirements
Ante-Mortem Examination and Presentation Procedures for Food Animals
Learn about the requirements for performing an ante-mortem examination and presentation. This document is incorporated by reference in the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) and has the same force of law as the SFCR itself.
Fundamentals of Post-mortem Defect Management Program
Learn about the requirements for performing a post-mortem defect management program. This document is incorporated by reference in the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) and has the same force of law as the SFCR itself.
Fundamentals of the Post-Mortem Examination Program
Learn about the requirements for performing a post-mortem examination program. This document is incorporated by reference in the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) and has the same force of law as the SFCR itself.
Preventive Control Requirements for Biological Hazards in Meat Products
Learn about the control measures for Escherichia coli O157:H7/NM in Raw Beef Products. This document is incorporated by reference in the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) and has the same force of law as the SFCR itself.
Meat products containing shellfish
Learn about the requirements that apply to meat products containing shellfish.
Canadian Standards of Identity Volume 7, Meat Products
Learn about the standards of identify for meat products. This document is incorporated by reference in the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) and has the same force of law as the SFCR itself.
Canadian grade compendium Volume 1, Ovine Carcasses and Poultry Carcasses
Learn about the grade requirements for ovine carcasses and poultry carcasses. This document is incorporated by reference in the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) and has the same force of law as the SFCR itself.
Grade Names for Imported Food
Check item 53 in this table for information relevant to meat products. This document is incorporated by reference in the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) and has the same force of law as the SFCR itself.
Grade Designations for Imported Food
Check items 3-6 in this table for information relevant to meat products. This document is incorporated by reference in the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) and has the same force of law as the SFCR itself.
Units of Measurement for the Net Quantity Declaration of Certain Foods
Units of measurement for prepackaged food, consumer prepackaged food and prepackaged food other than consumer prepackaged food. This document is incorporated by reference in the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) and has the same force of law as the SFCR itself.
Maximum Quantity Limits for Personal Use Exemption
There are quantity limits defined for meat products that determine whether you can qualify for a personal use exemption. This document is incorporated by reference in the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) and has the same force of law as the SFCR itself.
Regulatory requirements for slaughter and meat products
- Standards for antemortem examination and inspection
- Standards for Post-mortem evaluation of food animal carcasses
- Standards to identify a meat product as edible
- Standards for the management of condemned and inedible food animals and meat products
- Regulatory Requirement: Inspection services for Food Animals and Meat Products
- Application of the inspection legend on food animal carcasses before refrigeration
- Trichinella carcass testing methodology
Regulatory requirements for humane treatment of food animals during slaughtering activities
- Humane treatment of food animals at the slaughter establishment
- Ritual slaughter without stunning
- Humane stunning and slaughter of food animals and post-cut management
Preventive control recommendations
Preventive controls for food – Meat products
Find information on select preventive control recommendations for operators to mitigate food safety risks associated with the preparation of processed meat products.
Additional Guidance
The following guidance documents include historically accepted and proven parameters, examples of control measures, and other information to help facilitate regulatory compliance. Note there may be other controls that satisfy the requirements under Part 6, Division 7 of the SFCR that are not listed below. Always ensure that the controls you choose are tailored to the uniqueness of your business and are shown to be effective for your situation.
Guidance on slaughter activities
Common
- Food animal identification
- Ante-mortem examination guidelines
- Post-mortem evaluation procedures
- Dressing procedures and Preparation of edible parts
- Guidance on Canadian Food Inspection Agency inspection stations for slaughter operation of food animals and meat products
- Controls on contamination
- Microbial controls
Poultry
- Poultry Establishment Construction and Equipment
- Food animal information document for poultry
- Guidance on evisceration of reproductive system in young poultry
- Additional poultry and rabbit dressing, evisceration floor procedures
- Poultry and rabbit meat refrigeration, chilling, and freezing procedures
- Poultry Off-line and On-line Reprocessing and Reconditioning Procedures
- Poultry Pathogen Reduction Program
- Poultry reexamination program
- Poultry water retention control program
- Post-mortem examination program
- Procedures for preparation of feet or paws (poultry), head and feet-on carcasses (poultry), head-on (rabbits) for edible purposes
- Protocol for piloting new technology and procedures for poultry slaughter
- Training protocol for post-mortem examination program
Red meat
- Control Programs: water retention in edible raw red meat products
- Modernized Slaughter Inspection Program (MSIP) Hog
- Exemption to the application of the inspection legend before refrigeration
- Guidance on Specified risk material (SRM)
Guidance on animal welfare during slaughter activities
- Guidelines for stunning techniques of mammalian food animals
- Evidence showing an animal welfare preventive measure is effective
- Guidelines for animal welfare preventive control plans and self-audits for the slaughter of food animals
- Guidelines for the humane care and handling of food animals at slaughter
- Guidelines for ritual slaughter of food animals without pre-slaughter stunning
- Guidelines for stunning techniques for avian food animals, including ratites
- Mechanical, electrical or gas stunning; slaughter methods and monitoring signs of unconsciousness or consciousness
- Objective performance criteria for humane slaughter - red meat species and poultry
Documents under development
There are additional guidance documents under development and will be made available in the near future. These include several topics that have been covered by the Meat Hygiene Manual of Procedures (MHMOP), in particular chapters 17 (Ante and Post-mortem Procedures, Dispositions, Monitoring and Controls - Meat Species, Ostriches, Rheas and Emus) and chapter 19 (Poultry Inspection Programs). In the interim, the guidance in the Meat Hygiene Manual of Procedures may be used for reference; however the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) apply at all times.
Refrigeration for red meat - Refer to MHMOP 17.11
Retained water in poultry - Refer to MHMOP 19.8
Process controls - Refer to MHMOP Chapter 17 Annex B, MHMOP Chapter 17 Annex C, and MHMOP 19.6
Inedible Meat Products - Refer to MHMOP Chapter 6
The Guidance on Canadian Food Inspection Agency inspection services for food animals and meat products - Refer to MHMOP 1.4
Animal Information document for Equine - Refer to MHMOP Chapter 17 Annex E
Disposition manual - Refer to MHMOP 19.7 and MHMOP Chapter 17 Annex F
Poultry Data Collection forms - Refer to MHMOP Chapter 19 Annex A Data Collection Forms
Swine HACCP generic model
Poultry HACCP Generic Model
Game animal slaughter preventive controls
Trichinella on-farm food safety programs
Trichinella Carcass Testing Methodology
Related information
Food business activities that require a license under the SFCR
Learn more about specific meat related activities that would or would not require a licence under the SFCR.
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