Standards for ante-mortem examination and inspection

Rationale

The incoming food animal is the basic input for the production of meat products. You are required to determine the biological, chemical and physical hazards that pose a risk of contamination of the food. Each food animal presents its own level of hazards based on, for example, its health status and its cleanliness, and this affects the safety and the suitability of the meat that will be derived from it. By detecting hazards and animal welfare concerns at ante-mortem examination, specific control measures can be implemented, where applicable, to mitigate any potential risks. Increased efficiency in managing certain hazards can be achieved when appropriate information regarding potential exposure to hazards at the primary producer level is transferred to the slaughter operator.

Since food animals are living beings and that their health status can change, an ante-mortem examination (screening) needs to be performed within the 24 hours before the food animal is slaughtered.

In addition, if any abnormalities in physiology, behaviour or appearance are detected, they need to be referred to the veterinary inspector for a detailed inspection and professional judgement.

A designated CFIA official also needs to evaluate all food animals, other than game animals, within 24 hours before slaughter, to ensure they are fit for slaughter. Verification of the results of your ante-mortem examination, as well as their ante-mortem inspection of the food animal, or sample of a shipment of food animals, as applicable, as well as their inspection of the respective Food Animal Information Document (FAID), as applicable, will provide the designated CFIA official with the necessary information to determine that the animal is fit for slaughter. If the CFIA official is not a veterinary inspector, and detects an abnormality on ante-mortem inspection, the animal or shipment will need to be referred to the veterinary inspector for a detailed inspection and professional judgement.

What this means to your food business:

To help you understand these requirements, specific criteria and examples are outlined below. The examples are not exhaustive but help illustrate the intent of the requirement and offer ideas on what you could do to comply. Key terms throughout the text have been hyperlinked to the SFCR glossary

Ante-mortem examination and Food Animal Information Document evaluation: 138, 165

• You perform an ante-mortem examination of a food animal or a sample from the shipment of food animals within 24 hours before slaughter, and you examine the Food Animal Information document, as applicable, in accordance with the IBR document Ante-mortem Examination and Presentation Procedures for Food Animals.

  Conducting an ante-mortem examination on a sample of a shipment means that for animals that are received in crates or cages as part of a truckload/shipment, such as birds or rabbits, you will examine the animals in their crates/cages, and that you need to examine a number that sufficiently represents the whole shipment to ensure that food safety, reportable disease and animal welfare conditions will be detected, if present in the shipment. The sample selection will be detailed out in your preventive control plan.

  Examples:

  It is recommended that 5 to 10% of the animals on each shipment receive ante-mortem examination. According to epidemiological principles for disease investigation, it is recommended that 290 animals be examined for a shipment of 5000, allowing therefore for detection of a condition with 1% prevalence with a 95% confidence level.

  Note that in the case of presentation of a sample of a shipment to a designated CFIA official for ante-mortem inspection, the official may request a larger or different sample as deemed necessary.

  To ensure that your ante-mortem examination is complete, you will:

  • Perform the examination as detailed in your preventive control plan, which will describe an established standardized approach to ensure that it is performed in a consistent manner that enables detection of any deviations from normal physiology, behaviour, gait and appearance described in the document entitled Ante-mortem examination guidelines (under development).
  • For each equine animal or shipment of birds, other than an ostrich, emu or rhea, you obtain an associated Food Animal Information Document which is a document that is prepared and attested by the owner, or the person having care and control over a food animal prior to its arrival at the slaughter establishment, that details specifics regarding its rearing that will inform as to whether the food animal might harbor potential hazards (such as disease, chemical residues, physical hazards).

    You examine the FAID for completeness and accuracy and you evaluate whether the information provided identifies any potential chemical, biological or physical hazard to the derived meat product. Key elements in the evaluation of the FAID are described in the Food Animal Information Document for Poultry (under development), in the case of a bird other than an ostrich, rhea or emu, or, Food Animal Information Document for Equine (under development), in the case of an equine.

    You only move to slaughter those food animals with complete and accurate FAID. Otherwise you inform CFIA of your decision to:

    • hold the food animal pending receipt of this information;
    • humanely kill the food animal and identify as inedible the carcass and any blood collected from the food animal; or
    • slaughter the food animal and hold the carcass, the carcass parts and associated blood pending receipt of this information

    You manage any hazards identified during your examination of the FAID, including, as necessary, withholding the slaughter of the food animals.

    Note: The requirements related to food animal information documents do not apply to food animals that are game animals (e.g. migratory/upland birds, wild turkey, etc.)

    Note: In case of other species, you are still required to determine the biological, chemical and physical hazards that pose a risk of contamination of the food as per section 47 of the SFCR. It is recommended that you request and review information from the primary producer/supplier to identify and manage these hazards. If such information is not available or is questionable (either because of accuracy or source credibility) or if historical data from a supplier demonstrates added risk (i.e. non compliances in the past) non compliances in the past), you will need to develop, implement and maintain effective alternative control measures (e.g. residue sampling, on-farm audits, metal detectors, etc.) to mitigate any potential risks.

• You perform a new ante-mortem examination if the food animal or shipment of animals is not slaughtered within 24 hours from the initial ante-mortem examination.
• In the case of game animals, the hunter will slaughter and transport to the facility only animals that appear to be healthy (i.e. it is not showing any deviation from normal physiology, behaviour, gait or appearance).
• You identify, manage and hold for veterinary inspection, unless a veterinary inspector instructs you otherwise, any animals showing a deviation from normal physiology, behaviour, gait or appearance, or animals where hazards have been identified on their FAID,

  Examples:

  You identify, manage and hold animals:

  • showing evidence of disease or conditions that could render the carcass of a food animal unfit for human consumption. It's important to note that, the disease or condition may not be identifiable during the course of a post-mortem examination/inspection (e.g. rabies, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, etc.);
  • showing evidence of disease or conditions requiring a detailed post mortem examination or inspection to determine final disposition.
  • suspected of harbouring chemical residues (e.g. veterinary drugs such as antibiotics);
  • suspected of having a reportable disease or Foreign Animal Disease;
  • heavily contaminated with dirt and/or fecal matter;
  • requiring special handling for animal welfare reasons (e.g. animals with fractures);
  • posing a potential health threat to the personnel handling the carcass (e.g. ringworm);
• You mark and place in a designated (suspect) pen or area those food animals identified as showing deviations, other than game animals, pending veterinary inspection and instructions. In the case of a sample of a shipment that is showing a deviation, the shipment(s) associated to the suspect sample, will be held pending veterinary inspection and instructions.

Presentation for Ante-mortem inspection, ante-mortem documents: 139, 166

• You present the food animal or shipment of food animals, other than a game animal, to a veterinary inspector or an inspector under the supervision of a veterinary inspector, within the 24 hours before the slaughter, in accordance with the Ante-mortem Examination and Presentation Procedures for Food Animals.

  In order to perform a complete ante-mortem inspection, the CFIA official will need you to:

  • present the results of your ante-mortem examination in an auditable format, including, as applicable, your evaluation of the FAID, including:
    • time and date of arrival of the food animal(s) at the establishment;
    • time and date of the ante-mortem examination
    • the primary producer's or owner's name and address;
    • the identity and description of the food animal or lot of food animals;
    • the number of food animals screened/received
    • the results of the ante-mortem examination, which will include the identity of any animal showing deviation, description of deviation observed, and actions taken such as segregation and holding of suspect animals;
    • the number of animals that are humanely killed (e.g. alleviation of suffering, etc.), their identity and the time and date of their death

      (Note: for the purpose of 166, you will need to record this information for animals that are humane killed subsequent to ante-mortem condemnation)

    • when applicable, the number of animals that were found Dead-On-Arrival (DOA) at the establishment or died in the establishment, their identity and the time and date they were found dead; and their disposal. In cases where this information is not available upon presentation for ante-mortem inspection (e.g. poultry), this information will nonetheless be recorded in a timely manner for the purposes of 166.
    • a signature of the employee that performed the examination.

      Note: for the purpose of section 166, you will also record, once available, the time when the food animal or lot of food animals was slaughtered

  • for an equine animal or a bird, other than an ostrich emu or rhea, present the Food Animal Information Document associated to the food animal or shipment of food animals,
  • present the food animal, that is not in a cage/crate, in a way that all sides, including rear and front can be generally observed, and, if necessary, restrain it. In the case of crated/caged animals, you present a representative sample of the shipment so it can be generally observed: this may be on the transport trailer, or in the staging area or, for birds that are shackled before stunning, this may be in the shackles. The CFIA does need to be in agreement that the location of the presentation will not impede on implementation of satisfactory control measures if a hazard is detected during ante-mortem inspection.
  • present the animal or shipment of animals for a new ante-mortem inspection if it is not slaughtered within 24 hours from the initial inspection.
• You mark and place in a designated (suspect) pen or area, those animals identified by the inspector as showing deviations, pending veterinary inspection and instructions. In the case of a sample of a shipment that is showing a deviation, the shipment(s) associated to the suspect sample will be held pending veterinary inspection and instructions.
  • When requested by the veterinary inspector, you restrain the food animal that you present to allow for a detailed veterinary inspection
  • You only move to slaughter animals identified as showing a deviation when they have been determined fit for slaughter by the designated veterinary inspector

    Examples:

    • You get confirmation that the food animal is fit for slaughter via a suitable document, such as a signed ante-mortem inspection card

    Note: It is not mandated to present game animals for an ante-mortem inspection when hunting is the means of slaughter. However, in those cases where game animals are fenced or corralled around a temporary facility, the operator should present the game animals in order for a CFIA official to conduct an ante-mortem inspection of these animals.

• You maintain all documents that capture the results of your ante-mortem examination, including FAIDs as applicable, for one year after arrival of the food animal at the establishment.