5. Rail Arrangement and Truck ways

To prevent contamination of carcasses, rails should be arranged to provide enough room for carcasses to move without touching equipment, walls, columns, other fixed parts of the building, and other carcasses. Consider the following guidelines when arranging rails in your establishment:

  • Consideration should be given to the type of rail and the rail speed when determining how rails are to be arranged.
  • Trim rails should be arranged so that carcasses pass the final carcass inspection position after the final trim.
  • To prevent the carcass from becoming contaminated by debris on the floor and from splashes during cleanups, the cooler rails should provide for clearance from the lowest part of the carcass to the highest point of the floor.
  • A room or area for washing gambrels, hooks, and trolleys should be provided. The room or area should have an exhaust fan in an outside wall to dispense steam.

6. Viscera Separation and Edible Byproducts Refrigeration

Because edible organs and parts (offal) are handled at temperatures conducive to bacterial growth, care must be taken in providing facilities for separation of viscera and for refrigeration of edible byproducts to prevent them from becoming contaminated. Consider the following guidelines for holding edible byproducts:

  • Facilities, such as viscera trucks or pans, should be provided for separating and handling viscera of the various species of animals to prevent commingling.
  • To prevent cross contamination, a separate cooler or a separately drained part of a carcass cooler should be provided for holding edible organs and parts (offal) under refrigeration.
  • To convey the edible byproducts to a cooler, a truck with removable metal drip pans should be provided.
  • To prevent cross contamination, establishment and inspection personnel from the slaughter department should be able to access the edible byproduct cooler without passing through a line of carcasses or through a congested carcass cooler.

7. Carcass Washing

Special facilities for washing inspected carcasses are needed to remove bone dust and other accidental contamination from the carcass. Consider the following guidelines when designing and constructing this area:

  • A separately drained area or an area that is sloped to a floor drain should be provided where inspected carcasses are washed.
  • If the carcasses are washed manually by establishment personnel, a platform should be provided to allow establishment personnel to be able to reach all p arts of the carcass.

8. Retain Room / Compartment

A retain room, cage, compartment, or receptacle may be required by inspection. Depending on the needs of inspection, consider the following guidelines for designing and constructing this room:

  • The retain room or compartment must be equipped for locking or sealing.
  • The room or compartment needs to be marked conspicuously ‘‘U.S. Retained.’’
  • If the retain compartment is located in the cooler, the compartment should be separated from the remainder of the cooler to prevent cross-contamination of inspected and passed carcasses. The separation can be accomplished by creating a compartment constructed of partitions of corrosion resistant wire screen or flat expanded metal.
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