It's what's for dinner

From a memo distributed in May 2002 to meat inspectors by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

General Information and Conduct

There are many serious responsibilities you have assumed in your role as a Consumer Safety Inspector. You need to learn your role and work within the guidelines. We are anxious to help you know your role well.

You must understand the responsibility you accept when you stop the company's production processes by stopping the line. If a product that is going into the food supply has been directly contaminated and you can justify the production loss that will prevent its entrance into the food supply, then you will be supported, because that is in your scope of work.

Stopping production for "possible" cross contamination is unjustifiable unless you can verify that there is direct product contamination. Verification is OBSERVATION of gross contaminate, not SUSPECTED contaminate. This is the only criteria for justifying halting production.

You are justified to stop production if it is physically impossible for you to properly examine the product presented to you. That means, for example, that the tongue is on the hook backward, or the paunches are upside down. That does not mean a paunch that is right side up but twisted only slightly, or the weasand [esophagus] and bung [anus] up underneath the paunch or intestine. That is going to happen occasionally, and we can pull most of those organs out for proper examination without stopping production. You may be accountable for the time the company has lost if that lost production is not verifiable and the action not justifiable.

Inspection

You need to know about tolerable limits of dust, hair, hide, grubs, etc. Any amount of oil on the hocks is a minor defect. An oil spot on the rounds or other parts of the carcass less than two inches in diameter is also minor and can be trimmed on the moving line. The line should NOT be shut off for an oil problem.

You must learn the difference between active and healed pleural adhesions and pleuritis. Pleura may contain a layer of fat that gives them a thickened appearance, and they may even have blood clinging to them that, if you run your finger over them, will scrape away and does NOT need to be peeled out.

"Bunk bruises" are NOT bruises at all but degenerated fat in the brisket and of no pathological significance. They are sterile and do not involve surrounding tissue. They are not unwholesome. The company can trim those very nicely after chilling, and they do not get into the food supply.

There is ZERO TOLERANCE of contamination from ingesta, feces, and milk on the carcass at final presentation. We will allow the company a chance to trim it off on the moving line unless it is so excessive that it must be corrected with the line stopped. You are responsible for the time the line is off. Turning off the line must be justifiable and verifiable if we are to support your action. Remember, YOU are accountable for this very serious responsibility of stopping the company's production. Be sure that supervisors can support your decision. Identifiable and verifiable ingesta or feces is as follows: a material of yellow, green, brown, or dark color that has a fibrous nature. Milk is a cream-colored to white fluid, not a clear fluid.

If you have unidentifiable material on the carcass and you are unsure what to do, you are instructed to apply a RETAIN/REJECT tag on the leading side of the carcass. It is unnecessary to cause significant loss of production. You don't have to decide what the unidentified material is, where it came from, or any remedy. That is outside your scope of work.

Viscera table

A contaminated liver needs one stamp for pet-food salvage if it is otherwise healthy. If there is a single isolated abscess that can be removed, stamp the salvageable end and make a slice for the company to know how much of the liver they can have for pet food. If there are no hepatic lymph nodes presented and NO OTHER PATHOLOGY, DO NOT stamp out the liver. It is still acceptable for human food.

Contamination with small amounts of ingesta on the paunch and small intestine which are salvaged by the company to be further processed to become edible does not always require condemnation.

Ingesta INSIDE the trachea is not contamination sufficient to condemn the heart. When an inspector upstream from you has made that determination and not stamped it, that inspector's judgment should not be overridden. That should be the rule: INSPECT YOUR OWN PRODUCT. Stay within your own scope of work.

Intact bladders still attached to the bung that are full of urine but not leaking are not contaminating anything, and nothing needs to be condemned. Leaking bladders are different, because either you see the urine leaking out or you don't. Did that urine contaminate something? How much was it? The whole carcass? Other edible viscera? Use good judgment.

Head chain

Condemn product affected by abscess and ingesta contamination on head and/or tongue and only ONE product in front and behind. DO NOT STOP LINE AND DO NOT WASH OUT HEAD CABINET.

Clumps of hair on head and/or tongue are NOT a major source of bacteria. If you must, you can put a spot of ink on the area. Someone down the line will trim it. DO NOT STOP THE LINE. This includes other trimmable lesions of head or tongue.

If pathology on head and/or tongue is sufficient to remove the carcass, you may stop the line, but only long enough to be sure you have proper identity of the carcass. Be reasonable about the time; it should only take a few seconds, not minutes.

If heads and tongues are not identified together properly and there is NO pathology, condemn the tongue. If the head has no ID and no pathology, condemn the head too. IF THERE IS SUFFICIENT PATHOLOGY OF EITHER HEAD OR TONGUE AND NO ID, SHUT OFF THE LINE UNTIL THE COMPANY HAS FOUND THE RIGHT CARCASS. (When they do and you are satisfied it is right, immediately start the line again.)

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