CONSOLIDATED NEWFOUNDLAND REGULATION 801/96

Short title

1. These regulations may be cited as the Meat Inspection Regulations.

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Definitions

2. In these regulations

(a) "Act" means the Meat Inspection Act;

(b) "director" means the Director of the Animal Health Division;

(d) "red meat" means the meat from mammals;

(e) "utensil" means any equipment that comes in contact with meat in a plant;

(f) "veterinary inspector" means a veterinarian licensed under the Veterinary Medical Act who is employed by the department responsible for administering the Act as a veterinarian, who has been trained to work as a veterinary inspector and veterinary inspectors have the authority of inspectors; and

(g) "wild game" means caribou and moose or another animal approved by the director.

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Licence requirements

3. (1) All plants must be licensed under these regulations unless they are registered as establishments under the Meat Inspection Act (Canada) or unless they are operated solely for the provision of food for the operator and the operator's family.

(2) An operator who holds a licence under these regulations shall operate the plant in accordance with these regulations.

(3) Animals which are to be slaughtered in a plant may, upon the request of an operator, be inspected under these regulations.

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Licence application

4. An application for a licence under the Act shall be in the form and shall contain the information required by the director.

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Licence form

5. If approved, the licence shall

(a) be issued as in the required form;

(b) continue in force until it is suspended or revoked by the director;

(d) be subject to the required annual licensing fee.

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Plant number

6. The director shall assign a plant number to every plant licensed under the regulations.

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Suspension and revocation

7. (1) The director may suspend or revoke the licence of a plant for violations of these regulations.

(2) If a licence is suspended or revoked, the operator must immediately stop using designs or symbols that suggest that the plant and/or the meat processed in that plant have been approved under these regulations.

(3) A decision of the director

(a) to suspend or revoke the licence of a plant under subsection (1); or

(b) to not approve for issuance of a licence under section 5,

may be appealed by the aggrieved operator or person to a judge of the Provincial Court of Newfoundland.

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Plant location

8. A plant shall

(a) be located at a reasonable offset from barnyards, stables, dead meat operations, waste disposal facilities and offensive trades and be at a reasonable offset from any source of pollution or any place that harbours insects, rodents or other vermin likely to cause meat or meat products to become contaminated, and reasonable offset shall be 100 metres unless otherwise determined by the inspector;

(b) be constructed and finished in such manner that the plant is capable of being maintained in a sanitary condition;

(d) be adequately ventilated; and

(e) be adequately heated.

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Chill rooms

9. Chill rooms

(a) shall be equipped with a direct reading thermometer of know accuracy; and

(b) need not be directly attached to the plant if they are in reasonable proximity to the plant.

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Water supply

10. A plant shall have, under pressure

(a) a supply of potable hot and cold water adequate for the efficient operation of the plant; and

(b) an adequate supply of potable hot water or live culinary steam for cleaning or sterilizing purposes.

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Washing facilities

11. A plant shall have approved hand washing facilities in the killing room.

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Floors

12. Plant floors shall

(a) be smooth, hard, impervious to liquids and shall, at the joint with the wall, be coved and sealed;

(b) except in chill rooms, dry storage and hide rooms, be adequately sloped to drains equipped with odour traps; and

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Catch basin

13. A catch basin is a required part of the plumbing in the kill room floor to remove solid materials unless there is an alternative means, accepted by the inspector, for the removal of solids.

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Walls and ceilings

14. Walls and ceilings shall be of an approved smooth, easily cleanable material and impervious to liquids in kill, chill and other meat storage rooms.

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Racks and hooks

15. Racks and hooks shall be of an approved rust‑resistant metal construction or shall be iron or galvanized steel but kept free of rust with edible oil and shall not be painted.

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Tables, containers etc.

16. Tables, benches, blocks and containers for meat intended for food shall not be wood on meat contact surfaces and shall be of an approved rust‑resistant material and free of any crack or crevice.

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Storage of offal

17. Containers for the storage of inedible offal, meat that is not food, condemned material and refuse shall be

(a) of suitable metal, plastic or fibre‑glass construction and covered with insect‑proof covers of the same construction;

(b) marked to identify how they are being used;

(d) kept clean and in good repair;

(e) kept in the storage room or isolated area provided for that purpose; and

(f) emptied as directed by the inspector.

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Utensils

18. Except as otherwise provided in these regulations, utensils shall not be of wood and shall be of such material and so constructed that they are rust‑resistant and can be easily cleaned and sterilized.

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Red meat plants

19. A red meat plant shall

(a) have rooms and operations in proper sequence from dirtiest to cleanest to properly allow holding, slaughtering, eviscerating, chilling, processing and storage, and the number of rooms necessary will be dependent upon the number of animals being slaughtered and is subject to the approval of the inspector;

(b) have a holding area that contains pens for the purpose of holding animals before slaughter as well as providing adequate shelter from adverse weather conditions and shall be attached to or in reasonable proximity to the plant;

(c) be equipped with or have readily available adequate facilities for the purposes of chilling and storing dressed carcasses immediately after slaughter to a temperature of 4° Celsius;

(d) have an approved hoist;

(e) have equipment to provide adequate restraint during slaughter;

(f) have a sterilizer for equipment that comes into contact with the carcass during slaughter and processing;

(g) have rails, racks and hooks arranged so as to keep carcasses or meat from touching the floor and from being able to touch the walls; and

(h) other approved equipment that the director requires.

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Poultry plant

20. Where poultry is processed in a plant, there shall exist

(a) rooms and operations in proper sequence from dirtiest to cleanest to properly allow holding, slaughtering, scalding, plucking, eviscerating, chilling, processing and storage;

(b) equipment for scalding and plucking;

(c) chill tanks equipped with adequate overflows and permanently affixed direct reading thermometers, which tanks shall be capable of lowering eviscerated carcasses to a temperature of 4° Celsius, within a period of time adequate to prevent the spread of bacteria;

(d) storage rooms capable of holding poultry carcasses at a temperature below 4° Celsius; and

(e) other equipment for cleaning and disinfecting of rooms and processing equipment and for cleaning and disinfecting poultry crates and transportation facilities.

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Tank material

21. Scalding equipment and chill tanks in a poultry plant shall be of rust‑resistant material impervious to liquids.

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Disinfection

22. No utensil or personal attire used in a poultry plant shall be used in or transferred to a red meat plant without proper disinfection beforehand.

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Processing of red meat in poultry plant

23. In plants processing poultry, red meats may also be processed if

(a) done at a separate time;

(b) the plant is shut down and sanitized between operations; and

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Prohibition re plants

24. A person shall not use a part of a plant as living quarters.

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Prohibition re plants

25. A person shall not use the holding pens of a plant for the purpose of fattening animals.

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Sanitary requirement

26. A plant shall be kept clean, sanitary and in good repair.

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Waste disposal

27. All waste and drainage from the plant shall be disposed of in accordance with provincial laws.

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Offal disposal

28. Inedible offal and meat that is not food shall be disposed of according to provincial laws.

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Disposal as directed

29. Notwithstanding section 28, where a carcass has been approved as fit for food by an inspector, inedible offal and meat that is not food that has been approved by the director for the purpose of animal food may be disposed of for that reason in a manner prescribed by the director.

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Plant vermin

30. Every practical precaution shall be taken to maintain plants free of flies, rats, mice and other vermin.

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Prohibition

31. A person shall not permit an animal not intended for slaughter in a plant to be in that plant.

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Approved germicides etc.

32. Only germicides, insecticides, rodenticides, detergents, wetting agents or other similar materials that have been approved for such use may be used in a plant and only in approved ways.

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Plant sanitization

33. Plants shall be cleaned and sanitized immediately upon completion of the daily operations.

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Equipment sanitization

34. Equipment and utensils shall be

(a) cleaned at the end of each day's use; and

(b) disinfected before each use.

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Equipment sterilization

35. Utensils that have been in contact with infected materials shall be immediately cleaned and sterilized by means of hot potable water or live culinary steam.

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Meat handling

36. Meat and meat products shall be handled and kept, during processing, storage and transportation in a manner and place as to prevent contamination.

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Removal of offal

37. Inedible offal and meat that is not intended for food shall

(a) be removed immediately from a room in which carcasses or meat are chilled or otherwise stored, cut, handled, prepared or packed; and

(b) be placed in the containers prescribed for that purpose.

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Hides

38. Hides shall not be kept in a room in which carcasses or meat are chilled or otherwise stored, cut, handled, prepared or packed.

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Condemned carcasses

39. The carcass of an animal that has been condemned on ante mortem inspection shall not be taken through or into any room in which carcasses or meat are chilled, stored, cut, handled, prepared or packed.

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Dead animals

40. A person shall not take a dead animal into a plant other than approved wild game.

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Wild game

41. Where a plant processes wild game,

(a) that processing shall not take place at a time when other meat or a meat product is being processed;

(b) the processed wild game shall be kept separate in holding coolers from other meat processed and inspected under these regulations; and

(c) the abattoir and all equipment used in processing that wild game shall be cleaned, sanitized and disinfected immediately upon completion of the processing of the wild game.

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Animal death

42. An animal that dies while being held at a plant shall be removed immediately and disposed of in a manner approved by the director.

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Poultry

43. Where a plant processes poultry, all equipment, poultry crates and transport facilities shall be cleaned, disinfected and sanitized as soon as practical after arrival at the plant.

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Compliance with Meat Inspection Act (Canada)

44. A carcass of an animal or a part of it shall not be taken into a plant unless the animal was slaughtered in accordance with these regulations or the Meat Inspection Act (Canada) and the regulations made under the Act.

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Compliance with section 36

45. (1) Where an inspector finds that the provisions of section 36 are not complied with in respect of a vehicle at a plant, he or she shall

(a) prohibit the transportation or delivery of meat or meat products from the plant in the vehicle and may issue the directions that he or she considers necessary or advisable to secure compliance with the provisions of section 36; or

(b) direct the removal from the vehicle of meat or meat products therein and reinspect the meat or meat products.

(2) On reinspection of meat or meat products under paragraph (1)(b), the inspector may issue the directions that he or she considers necessary or advisable to ensure that the meat or meat products comply with these regulations.

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Processing

46. (1) All processing of meat into quarters, retail cuts, ground meat, sausages or other meat products shall be done in a manner so that contamination is avoided.

(2) Subsection (1) includes but is not limited to

(a) the use of cleanable, non‑wood cutting surfaces;

(b) the use of stainless steel or equivalent cutting, grinding or other food contact equipment;

(d) the use of food‑quality packaging materials.

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Records

47. An operator shall make and keep a record of not less than 12 months duration, of animals inspected at the plant, in the form required by the director.

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Personnel

48. A person shall not perform work that brings him or her in contact with meat or meat products in a plant unless

(a) the person is free from and not a carrier of a disease or infection that may be spread through the medium of food;

(b) the person submits to such examination and tests as the local medical officer of health or the director requires; and

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Facilities

49. (1) Every plant shall, for the use of the employees, be provided with or have readily available

(a) hand washing facilities, including dispensable germicidal soap and running hot and cold water;

(b) clean single use towels or other approved hand drying devices; and

(2) Every toilet room shall be

(a) located so that it does not open directly into any room in which

(i) meat is chilled, stored, cut, handled, prepared, or

(ii) meat products are produced, processed, handled or stored;

(b) adequately ventilated; and

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Inspectors

50. Every plant shall be operated under the supervision of an inspector.

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Compliance

51. Every person shall comply with any direction issued by an inspector or veterinary inspector under these regulations.

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Inspector powers

52. Where a provision of the Act or these regulations or a direction of an inspector is not complied with within a plant, an inspector

(a) may refuse to provide inspection at the plant or to stamp with the inspection legend or label meat at the plant; and

(b) shall notify immediately the director and furnish him or her with full particulars of his or her reasons for refusing to provide inspection at the plant or for refusing to stamp with the inspection legend or label meat at the plant.

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Office

53. Every plant which becomes the full‑time work site for an inspector shall provide

(a) adequate office accommodation for the use of the inspector; and

(b) adequate work space on the floor of the killing room for the inspector during his or her post mortem inspection.

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Samples

54. (1) An inspector may take or cause to be taken specimens from animals, carcasses, meat products or from other sources from within the plant for testing purposes.

(2) Edible portions of the carcass shall not have antibiotic or other residues in excess of those permitted under the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations (Canada).

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Inspector power

55. An inspector may disallow the use of any equipment, utensil or room in a plant which in his or her opinion does not comply with these regulations.

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Inspection services

56. Inspection services may be provided during regular government working hours, Monday through Friday, and may

(a) be provided in a case of emergency by the veterinary inspector; and

(b) be provided after hours, on Saturdays, or on holidays when arranged in advance by the operator with the director and overtime costs payable to inspection staff for work after hours or on holidays shall be chargeable to the operator unless otherwise arranged with the director.

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Inspection arrangements

57. (1) An operator shall arrange with the inspector assigned to the plant for time of slaughter so that the inspector may make arrangements for the ante mortem inspection of animals, the post mortem inspection of the carcasses of such animals and the stamping with the inspection legend or labelling of the meat of such animals during the hours prescribed by section 56.

(2) Every operator shall

(a) make reasonable arrangements to expedite the ante mortem inspection of animals intended for slaughter; and

(b) conduct the slaughtering and dressing operations with reasonable speed in order to expedite the post mortem inspection of the carcasses.

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Designation of slaughter

58. Where an inspector carries out his or her duties at more than one plant, the director may designate the hours of the day and the days of the week during which each plant may carry out its slaughtering operation.

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Pre‑slaughter inspection

59. A pre‑slaughter inspection may at the request of an operator be completed by an inspector on an animal that is to be slaughtered and that inspector may approve or disapprove that slaughter.

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Animal holding

60. Where this regulation prescribes that an animal be held, an inspector shall direct that the animal be removed to and detained in an area apart from other animals.

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Slaughter of held animal

61. Where these regulations prescribe that an animal be slaughtered as a held animal, a veterinary inspector shall

(a) direct that the animal be slaughtered apart from other animals; and

(b) make the post mortem inspection of the carcass of the animal.

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Condemned animal

62. Where an animal is condemned under these regulations a veterinary inspector shall direct that the animal be killed and that the carcass

(a) be removed immediately to the storage room for condemned material;

(b) be denatured by a method approved by the director; and

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Removal of condemned animal prohibition

63. Unless otherwise authorized by an inspector, a person shall not remove an animal that has been held or condemned by an inspector from the area designated by the inspector for the detention of the animal.

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Veterinary inspector inspection

64. (1) Where on ante mortem inspection of an animal it appears to an inspector who is not a veterinary inspector that the animal is diseased, crippled, immature or that the animal shows evidence of another abnormal condition, he or she shall

(a) hold the animal; and

(b) notify the veterinary inspector or director immediately.

(2) Where a veterinary inspector is notified that an animal has been held, he or she shall make an ante mortem inspection of the animal.

(3) Where a veterinary inspector inspects a held animal and approves the animal for slaughter, he or she shall

(a) permit slaughter of the animal; and

(b) make or direct an inspector to make a post mortem examination of the carcass.

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Diseased carcass

65. Where a veterinary inspector inspects an animal and finds or suspects that the animal is affected with a disease or condition that may cause condemnation of the carcass or a part of it on post mortem examination, the veterinary inspector shall direct that the animal be slaughtered as a held animal.

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Abnormal temperature

66. Where a veterinary inspector finds that an animal has an abnormal temperature, the veterinary inspector shall direct that the animal

(a) be slaughtered as a held animal; or

(b) be condemned.

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Unfit for food

67. Where a veterinary inspector inspects an animal and in the veterinary inspector's opinion

(a) the animal is in a moribund condition; or

(b) for any other reason, the meat of the animal is not fit for food,

the veterinary inspector shall condemn the animal.

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Sick animal

68. A person shall not hold a sick animal for treatment at a plant.

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Animal removal

69. A person shall not remove a live animal from a plant except as directed by an inspector and subject to the conditions stated by the inspector.

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Humane slaughter

70. An animal shall be slaughtered by a method that produces rapid unconsciousness and exsanguination.

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Prohibition

71. An animal shall not be slaughtered unless it is rendered unconscious in accordance with a method authorized under section 72

(a) immediately before slaughter; or

(b) immediately before it is hung for the purpose of slaughter.

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Unconsciousness

72. (1) For the purposes of slaughter, an animal shall be rendered unconscious

(a) by delivering a blow to the head by means of a mechanical penetrating or non‑penetrating device approved by the director;

(b) in the case of a lamb or young calf, by delivering a blow to the head by manual means;

(i) produces rapid unconsciousness, and

(ii) has been approved by the director; or

(d) by applying an electrical current to the head

(i) in a manner that produces rapid unconsciousness, and

(ii) by a device approved by the director.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the director may authorize the operator of a plant to render an animal unconscious other than a method prescribed by subsection (1).

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No unnecessary pain

73. An animal shall be prepared for slaughter and slaughtered in a manner that does not cause it unnecessary pain.

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Pens

74. (1) Pens for the purpose of holding animals before slaughter shall be

(a) clean, adequately ventilated;

(b) free from sharp projections or obstructions that may injure an animal;

(d) sufficient to keep animals from separate lots and deliveries apart from each other and in identifiable groups until ante mortem inspection, provided however that animals from the same herd or flock may be penned together.

(2) Animals shall not be assembled in a greater number than may be held without over‑crowding or risk of injury.

(3) Animals shall be held separately according to species.

(4) Every ramp or incline used in assembling or moving animals for the purpose of slaughter shall

(a) be constructed in a manner that provides good ascent or descent for the animals; and

(b) be maintained in a manner that provides good footing for the animals.

(5) An electrical prod used in assembling or moving animals for the purpose of slaughter shall not be applied to the perianal region or escutcheon of an animal.

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Post mortem inspection

75. An inspector shall make a post mortem inspection of the carcass of an animal immediately after slaughter.

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Chilling temperature

76. (1) A carcass shall be moved to an area maintained at a temperature of 4° Celsius, or lower, immediately after inspection.

(2) Poultry carcasses

(a) shall be chilled after plucking, evisceration, washing and removal of head and feet by submersion in a chilling tank of ice water until the dressed carcass reaches a temperature of 4° Celsius; and

(b) shall be hung after chilling in a cooled atmosphere to remove excess moisture before final inspection and packaging.

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Condemned animals

77. Where these regulations prescribe

(a) that an animal be condemned and killed;

(b) that a carcass or a part or organ of it be condemned; or

an inspector shall direct that such animal, carcass, part, organ, inedible offal or meat that is not food be disposed of by

(d) delivery to a rendering plant, approved under the Meat Inspection Act (Canada);

(e) burying with a covering of at least 60 centimetres of earth in a location acceptable to the authority having jurisdiction;

(f) incineration by a method approved in a location acceptable by the authority having jurisdiction;

(g) rendering in a facility that is equipped with high temperature rendering equipment approved by the director; or

(h) another method approved by the director.

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Inspection approval

78. Meat that has been approved for food under the Act and these regulations shall be stamped with an inspection legend which shall include the number assigned to the plant by the director and the words "APPROVED ‑ NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR" and be of the design on file with the minister.

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Prohibition

79. (1) The inspection legend shall be applied only to meat that has been approved for food under these regulations.

(2) A person other than an inspector or a person authorized by him or her shall not apply the inspection legend.

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Stamping of inspection legend

80. (1) The inspector or a person authorized by him or her shall stamp the inspection legend upon

(a) every dressed carcass, part or organ approved for food;

(b) each quarter, primal cut and abdominal area of every carcass side;

(2) Meat that is obtained from a dressed carcass or a part or organ of it that has been inspected and stamped and is of such character or size that is impractical to stamp the inspection legend on it may be placed in a container, carton or bag under the supervision of an inspector who shall apply or authorize a person to apply the inspection legend to such container, carton or bag.

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Metal stamp

81. (1) Where practical, the inspection legend shall be applied by means of a metal stamp.

(2) Meat or meat product that has been returned to a plant shall not be sold until it has been identified, reinspected and approved by an inspector.

(3) Returned meat or meat product that has lost its identity, been contaminated, has been returned in an objectionable container or is unfit for food shall be condemned and denatured.

(4) Where it is impractical to use a metal stamp, the inspection legend shall be applied by means of

(a) a tag attached to a carcass or a part, organ or cut thereof or sealing the container thereof;

(b) a label applied to a container of meat or printed directly upon a plastic bag used to contain the carcass, part, organ or cut,

in a form and manner approved by the director.

(5) Where the inspection legend is applied under paragraph 4(b), the tag, label or container bearing the inspection legend shall be destroyed immediately upon use of the meat or removal of the meat from the container.

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Custody of stamps, tags, etc.

82. (1) An inspector shall have the custody of and be responsible for the inspection legend stamps, tags, labels and containers, packages and bags or cartons or inserts bearing the inspection legend.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), an inspector may leave a portion of an inspection legend stamp in the custody of the owner of a retail or processing meat plant who has been authorized by the director to apply the inspection legend and that owner shall be responsible for the security and maintenance of the inspection legend stamp.

(3) Where the director is advised of an infraction of security or use of a portion of an inspection legend stamp, he or she may direct an inspector to seize the stamp and forward a written report to the director.

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Prohibition re stamps

83. (1) A person shall not apply to meat or a container of meat a stamp, tag or label that is similar to the inspection prescribed by these regulations or a tag or label approved by the director.

(2) Letters or figures on a brand, stamp or device used by an operator shall be of the style and type as to make a clean and legible impression.

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Detention

84. An inspector may detain meat or meat products where he or she believes on reasonable and probable grounds that there is a contravention of these regulations with respect to that meat.

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Destruction order

85. Where, after a hearing, the director finds that there is a contravention of these regulations in respect of meat or meat products under detention, the director may direct that the meat or meat products be destroyed or otherwise disposed of in a manner that he or she considers advisable.

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Destruction order

86. Where a person is convicted of an offence under these regulations in respect of meat or meat products that are under detention, the director may direct that the meat or meat products be destroyed or otherwise disposed of in a manner that he or she considers advisable.

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Prohibition

87. Where meat or meat products are under detention, a person shall not sell, offer to sell, move, disturb, allow or cause to be moved or disturbed, receive or process such meat or meat products.

164/94 s135

Carcass grading

88. The department may perform carcass grading in conformity with the Canada Agricultural Products Act (Livestock and Poultry Carcass Grading Regulations) or provincial grading regulations on a voluntary basis with interested plant operators.

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Repeal

89. The Meat Inspection Regulations, 1994, Newfoundland Regulation 164/94, are repealed.