Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 3, § 1222 - Operations and Procedures to be Clean and Sanitary

(a) Live poultry shall not be held or slaughtered and edible product shall not be stored in any room where inedible product is kept.

(b) The following operations shall be conducted only within separate rooms conforming with plant construction requirements of section 1210 of these regulations: killing, scalding, roughing, and skinning operations; and pinning, finishing, evisceration, chilling, and packing operations for dressed poultry.

(c) Live poultry shall not be held in the same room where pinning, finishing, evisceration, chilling and packing operations are conducted. If live poultry are held in the same room where killing, scalding, roughing, and skinning operations are conducted they shall be located sufficiently away from these operations to prevent contamination of the product.

(d) Poultry must be slaughtered in accordance with good commercial practices in a manner that will result in thorough bleeding of the carcasses and that will ensure that breathing has stopped prior to scalding. Blood from the killing operation shall be confined to a relatively small area and kept from being splashed about the room.

(e) In finishing and cleaning dressed poultry, feed shall be removed from the crop, the fecal material from the cloaca shall be removed, and carcasses that are not free from vestigial feathers shall be singed, and such operation shall be completed prior to or during the final washing but prior to chilling and packaging of such dressed poultry. Notwithstanding the foregoing, dressed poultry which is to be eviscerated in an official establishment within 24 hours from time of slaughter may, when approved by the Department, be transferred by conveyor or operational type container or other approved means to such official establishment prior to removal of the feed in the crop.

(f) The head of each dressed poultry carcass shall be washed thoroughly to remove feed from the mouth and blood from the head and mouth.

(g) In the final washing, the dressed carcass shall be passed through a spray or system of sprays providing an abundant supply of fresh clean water or under clean flowing water utilizing a scrubbing action.

(h) Water spray washing equipment or running water facilities with sufficient potable water to thoroughly and efficiently wash carcasses shall be used for washing each carcass inside and out.

(i) The water used in washing the poultry shall be permitted to drain freely from the body cavity.

(j) All offal resulting from the eviscerating operation shall be removed from the processing area as often as necessary to prevent the development of unsanitary conditions.

(k) Containers to be used for packaging ready-to-cook poultry shall be clean, free from objectionable substances or odors and of sufficient strength and durability to adequately protect the product during the normal distribution. Ready-to-cook poultry, other than that which is to be ice packed, shall be adequately drained to remove ice and free water prior to packing and packaging.

(l) Used tubs, barrels, and boxes intended for use as containers of any poultry meat or product shall be inspected prior to use. Those showing evidence of misuse that makes them unfit to serve as containers for food products shall be rejected. The use of those showing no evidence of previous misuse may be allowed after they have been thoroughly and properly cleaned.

(m) Dead Poultry Carcasses.

(1) With the exception of dead poultry that have died enroute and are received with poultry for slaughter at an official establishment, no dead animal, poultry or wild fowl may be brought on the premises of an establishment unless written advance permission therefor is obtained from the Department.

(2) Under no circumstances shall the carcass or parts of any domestic poultry which has died otherwise than by slaughter, or was found on the premises in a dying condition, be brought into any room or compartment in which any poultry meat is prepared, handled or stored.

(n) Products Contaminated by Polluted Water: Procedure for Handling. In the event there is polluted water (including, but not being limited to, flood water and harbor water) in an official establishment, all edible products that have been contaminated by such water shall be condemned.

(o) Processing Rabbits. Rabbits may be killed, skinned, eviscerated, cooled and packaged in one room, providing that the room is of such size that the killing, skinning and eviscerating may be done on holders so spaced that sanitary processing is possible; the cooling tanks so placed that their contents are not contaminated by other processes, and the packing is done in a part of the room well away from inedible products so that no contamination of the ready-to-cook product is possible.

(p) Poultry carcasses contaminated with visible fecal material shall be prevented from entering the chilling tank until the fecal contamination is removed and the carcass reinspected and passed by an inspector.

(q) When frozen poultry is to be defrosted in water, continuous running tap water of sufficient volume to thaw such poultry shall be used. Such poultry shall not be thawed in still water and the thawing tanks shall be emptied and rinsed after each use. The tanks shall be thoroughly cleaned at least once daily. If water is heated, it shall not be heated above 70 °F.

(r) When thawing frozen ready-to-cook poultry in water, the establishment shall use methods that prevent adulteration of, or net weight gain by, the poultry.

Notes

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 3, § 1222

1. Amendment filed 1-23-61; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 61, No. 2).
2. New article 8 heading, amendment of section and new NOTE filed 3-19-2009; operative 4-18-2009 (Register 2009, No. 12).

Note: Authority cited: Sections 407, 24561, 24562, 24681 and 24991, Food and Agricultural Code. Reference: Sections 24651, 24652, 24653, 24654, 24655, 24656, 24657, 24658, 24659, 24660 and 24661, Food and Agricultural Code.

1. Amendment filed 1-23-61; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 61, No. 2).
2. New article 8 heading, amendment of section and new Note filed 3-19-2009; operative 4-18-2009 (Register 2009, No. 12).