Connections – Humane Handling has many connections to the ultimate Safety and Quality of Meats

WORKING SAFELY BY?STEVE?SAYER

(The views and opinions expressed in this blog are strictly those of the author.)

Steve Sayer is currently a consultant covering GFSI, USDA, FDA, humane handling of feed animals and birds, OSHA, EPA, Human Resources and is a technical writer for multiple industries. He works part-time for California State Beaches in San Clemente, California.

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*The American Meat Institute’s (AMI) July 2013 edition, Rev.1,?Recommended Animal Handling Guidelines & Audit Guide: A Systematic Approach to Animal Welfare?that’s credited to Dr. Temple Grandin of Colorado State University is an aggregation of voluntary humane handling programs that goes beyond USDA/FSIS regulatory requirements involving humane handling.

*NOTE: The latest NAMI Animal Guideline edition is from January 2021 and is available - free - on NAMIs website in both Spanish and English.

Some of the content contained within the NAMI guidelines are advanced recommendations that when examined closely, could become harbingers of things to expect of future FSIS/USDA directives and notices.

Already USDA/AMS governmental auditors (NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM) are required to attend the Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization (PAACO) training classes, pass the written exam and perform three shadow audits prior to receiving their PAACO certification.

Many of the private humane handling auditors that are contracted by the Wal-Mart’s and McDonald’s are PAACO certified or hold an equivalent qualification. PAACO holds several certification courses each year. It can take a year or more to be accepted because of the large amount of people who try to attend from around the world.

USDA/AMS auditors are presently performing humane handling audits at pre-approved USDA harvesting establishments that qualify to supply fresh boneless beef and or frozen ground beef for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).

Approved suppliers to the NSLP are required to have a written humane handling program that’s based on the NAMI’s latest animal handling guidelines. In addition, the NSLP requires that someone who is PAACO certified (or an equivalent in 2022) train the establishment employee’s who work in the corrals and perform internal audits. NAMI’s guideline contains audit forms for lamb, pigs and cattle.

Know that presently the FSIS does NOT require harvesting establishment to have written humane handling programs. Prudent harvesting companies do have such a program in place (often robust programs) as perceptive establishments base their written program on the most recent NAMI’s humane handling guidelines while including references to germane USDA/FSIS directives.

If one connects the NAMI’s humane handling guidelines with present academia studies regarding enteric and exterior pathogens (including parasites) that are naturally inherent with livestock, the end result is a fountainhead of pragmatic and preventive measures that can truncate measurably and quantifiably, pathogens downstream during transportation, corralling and ultimately the harvesting of livestock; including meat quality.

Cases in point: Trailer maintenance

The conditions of the trailers should be kept as clean as possible. There should be no protruding objects and the floor of the trailers must be non-slip. Ideally, the trailers should be cleaned after each load of livestock.

Past studies involving DNA tracking show cross contamination can occur from one load of cattle to another regarding?E. coli?O157:H7 and the six NON O157:H7 STECS.

The hog industry routinely steam cleans their trailers in order to eschew diseases.

Often the problem with sub-contracted livestock truck transporters, opposed to the pig transporters, is there’s no present requirement to ensure trailers are cleaned between loads of cattle: unless the harvesting establishment requires it and enforces their policies.

Loading practices / driving practices?

Statistics have clearly shown that overloading livestock increases bruises and injuries that result with adverse results to meat quality. Driving conditions that avoid sudden stops and accelerations will also help preclude bruises and injuries.

Water, water trough and pen conditions?

Keeping the water and the water troughs clean on a regular cleaning and change-out schedule (including the addition of chlorine tablets and salt licks) can help reduce the possibility of cross contamination of pathogens from one animal to another. Regular cleaning of the corral floors can also help reduce cross contamination of pathogens while contemporaneously reducing slips and falls that can result with injuries and bruises.

Scheduling deliveries?

Pre-planned scheduling of deliveries of livestock plays an important role that in most circumstances can help sidestep FSIS’s 28-hour law (49 USC 80502 –?requiring trucks to stop and provide animals with food, water and rest).

USDA/FSIS regulations (9 CFR 313.2) require that if livestock are held in the corrals longer than 24 hours they must be fed. Feeding livestock prior to the knocking creates marked increases of ingesta from shackling through head removal downstream on the kill floor- even if the esophagus is tied or clipped.

Dr. Grandin is unequivocally a walking genius regarding the humane handling of animals. She’s that bright and that commonsensical.

When you factor in talented people like Erika Voogd, Mike Simpson, Janet Riley and members of the AMI’s humane handling committee, among others, the collective results is the perspicacious AMI guidelines.

A future blog shalll examine Bio-security, the FSIS Humane Handling Activities Tracks Systems (HATS) and then we’ll begin focusing on pathogenic interventions that some are practicing in the corrals leading up to the final chute.

(Excerpts for this blog were derived from the NAMI’s July 2013 recommended guidelines for animal’s edition).

2/27/2014 Meatingpalce.com Revised (04/01/2022)