Standards for post-mortem evaluation of food animal carcasses

Rationale

Disease in a food animal can show itself more or less when the food animal is alive, and it can manifest itself very locally or in multiple locations at various degrees. To evaluate whether a condition affects the safety of the final derived meat products, it is crucial to have all the information to inform the disposition. It is also crucial that condemned or rejected meat products are treated as inedible. Identification of the food animal carcass and its parts and correlation are therefore essential in accomplishing complete post-mortem inspection, or post-mortem examination, as the case may be, and ensuring that only parts from approved carcasses are identified as edible.

Each and every carcass must receive a complete post-mortem inspection or post-mortem examination, as the case may be. To be complete, specific parts must be evaluated. To ensure accurate and swift evaluation to align with line speeds, consistency in the way they are displayed to the inspector, for post-mortem inspection, are key.

When an authorisation to conduct a post-mortem examination program has been granted to you, you take on the responsibility that all carcasses and parts of food animals get examined with equal confidence as those receiving post-mortem inspection to ensure that all defects that pose a risk to food safety and suitability are removed.

When an authorisation to conduct a post-mortem defect management program has been granted to you, you take on the responsibility that all carcasses and parts of food animals get screened prior to the beginning of the post-mortem inspection and that the defects that you detect are managed before the post-mortem inspection is completed.

What this means for 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.

Identification and correlation: 148

You have developed and implement a control program to identify a carcass and maintain the identity until completion of the post-mortem inspection or examination

• You synchronize and correlate carcass, harvested blood, head and other carcass parts and, if appropriate, add additional identification

Presentation: 149

• You have control programs ensuring that carcasses and the parts described in the document entitled Post-mortem evaluation procedures are presented for post-mortem inspection consistently, including
  • carcasses or parts are within reach of the inspector when it is necessary to handle them for inspection
  • carcasses or parts are not being hidden by contamination or other visceral organs to an extent that it hinders the inspection
  • 50% or more of each carcass part is readily visible without manipulation by the inspector; and
  • the presentation standard in your control program has been agreed upon with the CFIA
• You do not remove any defects^Footnote 1 prior to the completion of the post-mortem inspection unless:
  • it is authorised by the veterinary inspector with supervisory authority
  • you are authorised to conduct a post-mortem defect management program and it is done only after the beginning of the post-mortem inspection and as described in your control program that has been developed in accordance to the Fundamentals of the post-mortem defect management program.

Note: You do not need to present a carcass and its parts for inspection when you conduct a post-mortem examination program.

Post-mortem-examination, screening: 150

• For a post-mortem Examination Program: you have developed control programs in accordance with the Fundamentals of the post-mortem examination program and you implement them under the supervision of a veterinary inspector.

• For a Defect Management program: you have developed control programs in accordance with the Fundamentals of the post-mortem Defect Management program and you implement them under the supervision of a veterinary inspector.