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Fresh red meat examination program

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Introduction

The purpose of this document is to provide a method and criteria for evaluating the acceptability of fresh red meat from cattle, calf, sheep, goat, horse or swine carcasses, including boneless cuts and trimming for human consumption and to determine compliance with the requirements of sections 125, 145 and 146 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR).

Examination procedure

Fresh red meat should be carefully examined for the presence of pathological conditions (for example abscesses), spoilage, contamination with ingesta, faecal material, hair, grease, rail dirt, foreign material, presence of spear-grass, blood clots, pieces of hide, and bone or cartilage (gristle) pieces. Cuts should be checked for correct stamping, if appropriate.

Lot examination

Lot examination is an evaluation technique in which samples are taken from the assembled lot of product.

A lot is defined as (whichever is the lesser of the following):

Procedure:

Online examination

Online examination is an operator's examination technique in which product is sampled from each production line or common source at a specified frequency. Online examination should be implemented by the license holder at a point close to where the product is placed into containers

License holders who choose to conduct online examination should ensure that it achieves equivalent or better results than lot examination.

Procedure:

Sampling plan and decision criteria

A decision to accept or reject is made based on the number and types of defects found. 1 or more critical defects means the shipment is rejected. With respect to major and minor defects, the decision criteria given in Table 1 are to be used.

It should be noted that some of the sampling plans indicate steps A and B. If upon completion of Step A, the number of major defects or the total number of defects (major + minor) falls between the accept and reject numbers, a second sampling and examination as per step B is done. The defects found are added to those found in Step A and the total numbers are then used to accept or reject the lot.

Note: total defects are only used if the reject level for major defects has not been exceeded.

Table 1. sampling plan and decision criteria
Plan No. Lot size (kg) Step No. No. sample units selected and examined No of defects found and action to be taken
Major accept Major reject Total (major and minor) accept Total (major and minor) reject
1. 454 or less A 3 0 1 1 2
2. 3629 or less A 6 0 1 5 6
3. 3630 to 10885 A 9 0 2 4 8
3. B 3
3. Total of A + B 12 1 2 8 9
4. 10886 to 27271 A 15 0 3 6 12
4. B 15
4. Total of A + B 30 2 3 18 19
5. 27272 to 108861 A 22 0 4 9 16
5. B 25
5. Total of A + B 47 3 4 26 27
6. 108862 and over A 27 0 4 10 19
6. B 40
6. Total of A + B 67 4 5 35 36

Examples:

a) lot weighing 18,144 kg packed in 27 kg boxes.

Sampling plan 4 is selected, which means that 15 boxes are to be randomly chosen and a 5.5 kg sample examined from each box.

Findings are as follows:

critical = 0
major = 3
minor = 3
total = 6

The lot is rejected on the basis of 3 major defects, even though the total number of defects is acceptable.

b) lot weighing 9,999 kg packed in 9 kg boxes.

Sampling plan 3 is selected which means that 9 – 5.5 kg sample units are required from 9 different boxes.

Findings are as follows:

critical = 0
major = 1
minor = 3
total = 4

The lot cannot therefore be accepted or rejected at this point since the number of major defects lies between 0 and 2. Step B is therefore followed, which means that another 3 units must be selected.

Findings are as follows:

critical = 0
major = 0
minor = 4
total = 4

These defects are added to those found at step A giving totals as follows:

critical = 0
major = 1
minor = 7
total = 8

The lot is accepted.

Table 2. defect criteria for meat from cattle and calves
Defect Minor Major Critical
Blood clots 40 – 150 mm (GD) >150 mm (GD); or
>5 minor clotsTable Note 1
Any clot(s) that would seriously affect product use
Bone fragments Hard bone ≤ 40 mm (GD);
bone slivers (from rib)
<75 mm x 6 mm
>40 mm (GD); or
>5 minor fragmentsTable Note 1
Any fragment(s) that would seriously affect product use
Bruises 25 – 60 mm (GD); or
13 – 25 mm deep
>60 mm (GD); or
>25 mm deep; or
>5 minor bruisesTable Note 1
Any bruises that would seriously affect product use
Detached cartilage ligaments >25 mm long and free from muscle tissue >5 minor defects that would not seriously affect product use Any cartilage or ligament that would seriously affect product use
Faecal material Any amount
Hair, wool, hide Hide ≤ 10 mm (GD); 5 – 10 strands of hair or wool. The number of minor defects is derived by dividing the number of hairs by 10. Hair cluster in single area Hide >10 mm (GD); or
>25 strands of hair or wool; or
>5 clusters of hair provided not affecting product usabilityTable Note 1
Hair, hide or wool that seriously affect product use – 100 single strands of hair in 1 sample unit
Harmful extraneous material Any substance that would cause minor tissue irritation Any substance that would cause injury or illness
Harmless extraneous material Paper or plastic ≤ 45 cm2; specks of rail dust covering an area <10 mm (GD); or single grass seeds (not associated with inflammation) Blunt wood>24 mm (GD); paper or plastic >45 cm2; or specks of rail dust covering an area >10 mm (GD); small insect; >5 minor defects that would not seriously affect product use Large insect; insect associated with unsanitary conditions; any substance that would seriously affect product use
Ingesta Any amount
Lips, ear, canals, teeth,
kidneys, liver
Any amount for each sample unit
Off condition (sour) Any amount of off condition meat
Pathological lesions Any lesion which would not have been evident at PM inspection that would not seriously affect product use Any other lesion(s)
Stains, discoloured areas 10 – 40 mm (GD) >40 mm (GD)
>5 minor stainsTable Note 1
Stains that would seriously affect product use
Other for examplefreezer burn Defect(s) that would affect product appearance but not use Defect(s) that would materially affect product use Defect(s) that would seriously affect product use

(GD means Greatest Dimension; > means Greater Than; < means Less Than)

Table 3. defect criteria for meat from sheep, lamb, goat and equine
Defect Minor Major Critical
Blood clots 40 – 150 mm (GD) >150 mm (GD); or
>5 minor clotsTable Note 2
Any clot(s) that would seriously affect product use
Bone frgaments Hard bone ≤40 mm (GD); bone slivers (from rib)
<75 mm x 6 mm
>40 mm (GD); or
>5 minor fragmentsTable Note 2
Any fragment(s) that would seriously affect product use
Bruises 25 – 60 mm (GD), or
13 – 25 mm deep
>60 mm (GD); or
>25 mm deep; or
>5 minor bruisesTable Note 2
Any bruises that would seriously affect product use
Detached cartilage ligaments >25 mm long and free from muscle tissue >5 minor defects that would not seriously affect product use Any cartilage or ligament that would seriously affect product use
Faecal material Any amount
Hair, wool, hide Hide ≤10 mm (GD); 5 – 10 strands of hair or wool. The number of minor defects is derived by dividing the number of hairs by 10. Hair cluster in single area Hide >10 mm (GD); or >25 strands of hair or wool; or >5 clusters of hair provided not affecting product usabilityTable Note 2 Hair, hide or wool that seriously affect product use – 100 single strands of hair in 1 sample unit
Harmful extraneous material Any substance that would cause minor tissue irritation Any substance that would cause injury or illness
Harmless extraneous material Paper or plastic ≤45 cm2; specks of rail dust covering an area <10 mm (GD); or single grass seeds (not associated with inflammation) Blunt wood>24 mm (GD); paper or plastic >45 cm2; or specks of rail dust covering an area >10 mm (GD); small insect; >5 minor defects that would not seriously affect product use Large insect; insect associated with unsanitary conditions; any substance that would seriously affect product use
Ingesta Any amount
Lips, ear, canals, teeth,
kidneys, liver
Any amount for each sample unit
Off condition (sour) Any amount of off condition meat
Pathological lesions Any lesion which would not have been evident at PM inspection that would not seriously affect product use Any other lesion(s)
Stains, discoloured areas 10 – 40 mm (GD) >40 mm (GD)
>5 minor stainsTable Note 2
Stains that would seriously affect product use
Other for examplefreezer burn Defect(s) that would affect product appearance but not use Defect(s) that would materially affect product use Defect(s) that would seriously affect product use

(GD means Greatest Dimension; > means Greater Than; < means Less Than)

Table 4. defect criteria for meat from swine
Defect Minor Major Critical
Blood clots 40 – 150 mm (GD) >150 mm (GD); or
>5 minor clotsTable Note 3
Any clot(s) that would seriously affect product use
Bone frgaments Hard bone ≤40 mm (GD); bone slivers (from rib)
<75 mm x 6 mm
>40 mm (GD); or
>5 minor fragmentsTable Note 3
Any fragment(s) that would seriously affect product use
Bruises 25 – 60 mm (GD); or
13 – 25 mm deep
>60 mm (GD); or
>25 mm deep; or
> 5 minor bruisesTable Note 3
Any bruises that would seriously affect product use
Detached cartilage ligaments >25 mm long and free from muscle tissue >5 minor defects that would not seriously affect product use Any cartilage or ligament that would seriously affect product use
Faecal materical Any amount
Harmful extraneous material Any substance that would cause minor tissue irritation Any substance that would cause injury or illness
Harmless extraneous material Paper or plastic <45 cm2; specks of rail dust covering an area <10 mm (GD); or single grass seeds (not associated with inflammation) Blunt wood >24 mm (GD); paper or plastic >45 cm2; or specks of rail dust covering an area >10 mm (GD); small insect; >5 minor defects that would not seriously affect product use Large insect; insect associated with unsanitary conditions; any substance that would seriously affect product use
Ingesta Any amount
Lips, ear, canals, teeth, kidneys, liver Any amount for each sample unit
Off condition (sour) Any amount of off condition meat
Pathological lesions Any lesion which would not have been evident at PM inspection that would not seriously affect product use Any other lesion(s)
Skin (on skinless cuts), hair, hair roots

Skin (on skinless cuts)
<10 mm (GD);
Skin (on skinless cuts) with hair or visible hair roots <20 cm2;
1 defect =

  • If <13 (strands of hair), Total # of hairs ÷ 3 and/or
  • Total # of hair roots ÷ 10 and/or
  • Clusters of hairs in single area.

Skin (on skinless cuts) >10 mm (GD);
Skin (on skinless cuts) with

  • hair or visible hair roots >20 cm2; or
  • >13 but <100 single strands of hair in 1 sample unit.

Skinless or skin on cuts:

  • skin, hair or hair roots seriously affecting product usability
  • 100 single strands of hair in 1 sample unit
Stains, discoloured areas 10 – 40 mm (GD) >40 mm (GD)
>5 minor stainsTable Note 3
Stains that would seriously affect product use
Other for example freezer burn Defect(s) that would affect product appearance but not use Defect(s) that would materially affect product use Defect(s) that would seriously affect product use

(GD means Greatest Dimension; > means Greater Than; < means Less Than)

Please consult "Controls on contamination in red meat establishments" and "Dressing procedures and Preparation of edible parts" to help you meet these requirements.

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