Cabinet Regulation No. 1393 of 2009 on Veterinary Requirements for the Handling of Poultry and Lagomorpha Meat in a Small Quantity

Translation © 2010 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre) Republic of Latvia Cabinet Regulation No. 1393 Adopted 8 December 2009 Veterinary Requirements for the Handling of Poultry and Lagomorpha Meat in a Small Quantity Issued pursuant to Section 25, Clause 1 of the Veterinary Medicine Law I. General Provisions 1. This Regulation prescribes the veterinary requirements for the acquisition, storage, transportation and distribution (hereinafter – handling) of such poultry and Lagomorpha meat (hereinafter – meat), which is supplied in a small quantity directly to a final consumer or a person, which is engaged in the retail trade in the Republic of Latvia and supplies fresh meat directly to the final consumer 2. This Regulation shall apply to farms, the amount of directly supplied meat of which does not exceed 10 000 poultry or Lagomorpha per year, if they have been raised at an animal holding of the very same farm and slaughtered at the premises intended for slaughter belonging to that farm. 3. The farm owner or possessor shall ensure the following: 3.1. fulfilment of the requirements of this Regulation; 3.2. free access for an inspector and authorised veterinarian of the Food and Veterinary Service (hereinafter – Service) to an animal holding and premises intended for slaughter; 3.3. conditions appropriate for a veterinary inspection; 3.4. that sick or possibly sick poultry or Lagomorpha are only slaughtered with the permission of a veterinarian authorised by the Service and in accordance with his or her instructions; 3.5. the records of the live poultry and Lagomorpha intended for slaughter, as well records of the poultry and Lagomorpha carcasses marketed; and 3.6. the storage, records and disposal of animal by-products (which are not intended for human consumption), in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 October 2002 laying down health rules concerning animal by-products not intended for human consumption. 4. The information referred to in Sub-paragraph 3.5 of this Regulation shall be kept for one year. 5. Employees involved in all stages of meat handling shall: 5.1. be trained in accordance with the vocational qualification requirements for persons employed in food handling; 5.2. observe personal hygiene; and 5.3. wear appropriate, clean and, if necessary, protective clothing. Translation © 2010 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre) 2 6. Premises intended for slaughter shall be registered with the Service in accordance with the regulatory enactments regarding the procedures for approval and registration of the activities of food undertakings. II. Hygiene Requirements for Premises Intended for Slaughter 7. For acquisition of meat the farm shall establish premises intended for slaughter – a separate building or premises next to the holding with a separate exit. 8. The following shall be arranged in the premises intended for slaughter: 8.1. a slaughter room with a separate place for the stunning and bleeding, scalding, plucking, skinning and removal of the internal organs of poultry and Lagomorpha (hereinafter – evisceration); 8.2. a room or place for cooling and storing meat, if necessary, also for dividing carcasses in half, ensuring that the temperature of the meat shall not be higher than 4°C; 8.3. a place or a container for collecting poultry feathers or the skins of the Lagomorpha; 8.4. a place for storing the cleaning and disinfection agents; 8.5. a place for storing packing materials; and 8.6. a place for storing the clothing of the employees. 9. The premises intended for slaughter shall be equipped with a lockable place or container for storing such cooled meat, the further processing of which has been suspended, and a separate lockable place or container for by-products (which are not intended for human consumption) or for the storage of such meat, which has been determined as unfit for use as food. 10. In premises, where poultry and Lagomorpha are slaughtered and processed: 10.1. the floor shall be smooth, waterproof, non-absorbing, washable, can be disinfected, provided with water drainage and rot-proof; 10.2. the walls are easy to wash, disinfect and have a smooth surface; 10.3. the windows shall be durable, easily washed, parts of windows that can be opened shall be fitted with removable insect screen; 10.4. the doors shall be smooth, easy to clean and disinfect; 10.5. there is sufficient natural or artificial lighting; and 10.6. the ceilings or the inner surface of the roof shall be formed in such a manner, as to prevent dirt collecting or condensation forming. 11. Surfaces that come in contact with meat: 11.1. shall be smooth, easy to clean and disinfect; 11.2. shall be made from non-rusting, non-toxic material; and 11.3. shall not be made of wood. 12. The facilities and instruments used for slaughter and processing shall be kept clean and in working order. They shall be washed and disinfected before work, after work, as well as during work, if that is necessary. 13. Premises intended for slaughter shall be provided with: 13.1. hot and cold running water that conforms to the mandatory harmlessness and quality requirements for potable water prescribed by regulatory enactments; Translation © 2010 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre) 3 13.2. an appliance for disinfecting instruments with hot water at 82°C or another method with an equivalent effect; and 13.3. agents for washing and disinfecting hands and appliances for wiping or drying hands. 14. Disinfectants shall be used in accordance with the regulatory enactments regarding activities with biocides. III. Requirements for Meat Handling 15. The owner or possessor of a farm shall co-ordinate the number and time of slaughter of poultry or Lagomorpha with a territorial structural unit of the Service. 16. Poultry and Lagomorpha shall only be allowed to be slaughtered after an ante-mortem inspection that shall be performed by a veterinarian authorised by the Service or a person who has been trained to perform an ante-mortem inspection and a post-mortem veterinary inspection (hereinafter – trained person) in accordance with Article 5 (6) (a) of the Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down specific rules for the organization of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption. 17. If a trained person determines prior to slaughter an uncharacteristic appearance or behaviour of animals, he or she shall inform the Service authorised veterinarian, who shall examine the overall health condition of the animals. 18. Slaughter and evisceration shall be carried out in the following manner: 18.1. only live poultry and Lagomorpha shall be brought into the slaughter room; 18.2. poultry and Lagomorpha, which are brought into a slaughter room, shall be stunned and bled as soon as possible, observing the requirements for the protection of farm animals at the time of slaughter; 18.3. skinning, scalding or plucking, evisceration and other processing shall be performed as soon as possible and preventing contamination of the meat; 18.4. during evisceration the contents of the digestive tract shall not be allowed to come in contact with the carcass; 18.5. internal organs, except the kidneys of poultry, shall be removed immediately; and 18.6. internal organs shall be removed in such a manner that during the post-mortem veterinary inspection it shall be possible to specify their belonging to a specific carcass. 19. At no stage of the meat handling process shall meat to be used in food be allowed to come in contact with the floor and walls. 20. Parts of a carcass, which are unfit for use as food, shall be separated as soon as possible from the meat to be utilised for human consumption. 21. Meat, for which further processing has been suspended or which has been determined to be unfit for use as food, as well as by-products, which are not intended for human consumption, shall not be allowed to come into contact with meat that has been determined as fit for use as food. 22. A veterinarian authorised by the Service or a trained person shall perform the post-mortem veterinary inspection. Translation © 2010 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre) 4 23. If a trained person determines in a post-mortem inspection that a carcass or offal may endanger human health, they shall be located separately and the veterinarian authorised by the Service, who shall perform a post-mortem veterinary inspection of this carcass and offal, shall be notified thereof. 24. Meat, which has undergone a post-mortem veterinary inspection, shall be marked in accordance with the regulatory enactments regarding the marking of meat, minced meat, mechanically separated meat, meat preparations and meat products. 25. Slaughtered poultry and Lagomorpha after evisceration and a post-mortem veterinary inspection shall be cooled as quickly as possible to a temperature, which shall not be higher than 4°C, if necessary, the carcasses shall be separated into halves. 26. When packaging poultry or Lagomorpha carcasses or half-carcasses, the requirements which have been prescribed in the regulatory enactments regarding mandatory harmlessness requirements for materials and objects which come into contact with food, shall be observed, and the following information shall be indicated on the packaging: 26.1. the name of the product (animal species, carcass or half-carcass); 26.2. the net mass; 26.3. the period of use; the storage conditions (temperature regimen); and 26.5. the name of the farm or the given name, surname and address of the owner (possessor). 27. The carcasses or half-carcasses of poultry and Lagomorpha shall be stored and transported, ensuring a temperature, which is not higher than 4°C. 28. If the owner or possessor of a farm distributes meat acquired in a small quantity to a person, which is engaged in retail trade, one of the following documents shall be attached to the meat: 28.1. an accompanying document with a number allocated by the State Revenue Service or another document prescribed in the regulatory enactments regarding documentary attestation of transactions, in which there is additionally indicated the number of carcasses or half-carcasses and the date on which the poultry or Lagomorpha were slaughtered; 28.2. the accompanying document drawn up by the farm owner or possesor in two copies. One copy shall be submitted to the place where the meat was supplied, the other shall be kept at the place where the meat was obtained. The documents shall comprise the following information: 28.2.1. the name of the farm or the given name, surname and address of the owner (possessor); 28.2.2. the number of carcasses and half-carcasses; 28.2.3. the date when the poultry or Lagomorpha were slaughtered; 28.2.4. the date of supply; and 28.2.5. the name and address of the receiver of the meat (for a natural person – given name and surname). 29. A sign shall be placed at a location of sale, wherein the animal species and the name of the farm where the animals were slaughtered shall be indicated. Translation © 2010 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre) 5 IV. Closing Provision 30. Cabinet Regulation No. 286 of 11 April 2006, Mandatory Harmlessness Requirements for the Handling of Small Quantities of Poultry and Lagomorpha Meat (Latvijas Vēstnesis, 2006, No. 62), is repealed. Acting for the Prime Minister – Minister for Transport K.Gerhards Minister for Agriculture J. Dūklavs