1. United States Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
FSIS Humane Handling Activities
Kenneth Petersen, DVM, MPH
Assistant Administrator
Office of Field Operations
USDA/FSIS
Washington, DC
March 2012

2. United States Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
The Food Safety and Inspection Service
 Our mission is to ensure that meat, poultry,
and processed egg products distributed in
commerce for use as human food are safe,
wholesome, and accurately labeled.
 Inspection is the hallmark of what we do.
 In plant, not on farm, authorities.

3. United States Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
The Food Safety and Inspection Service
 We conduct our food safety, public health,
and humane handling activities under
several laws:
- Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906;
- Poultry Products Inspection Act of 1957;
- Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1958, 1978;
- Egg Products Inspection Act of 1970; and
- Voluntary Inspection under the Agricultural
Marketing Act of 1946 (e.g., bison).

4. United States Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
FSIS Activities
• Set food safety, and other (wholesomeness and
labeling) standards
• Domestic and import inspection, HACCP
verification
• Emergency response (e.g., hurricanes, floods)
and epidemiological investigations
• Enforcement (administrative and criminal)
• Food safety communication and education
• Food Security (intentional contamination)
• State coordination (27 State programs)

5. United States Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Inspection
• Domestic
• 6,200 Federally inspected plants (800
livestock slaughter, 300 poultry slaughter)
• Inspect 150 million livestock and 9 billion
birds each year
• 300,000 hours of humane handling oversight
• Egg products - 3.4 billion pounds
• Also inspect allied industries – custom
exempt, warehouses
• Import Houses

6. United States Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
FSIS Workforce
• $1B FSIS Agency Budget
• $765M towards domestic inspection
• 9,600 FSIS employees
• Over 7,700 front line employees, including
• 6,600 inspectors
• 840 veterinarians
• Inspect slaughter operations continuously
• Inspect processing plants once per shift per day

7. United States Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
FSIS Regulatory Authority
 Title 9 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
 Humane Slaughter of Livestock - 9 CFR 313
 Rules of Practice - 9 CFR 500. Enforcement
 FSIS Directives (fsis.usda.gov) – field instructions
 HH and Slaughter of Livestock - Dir 6900.2 Rev 2
 Humane Handling Audit Work Methods – Dir 6910.1
 AM/PM Poultry Inspection – Dir 6100.3 Rev 1.
Contains good commercial practice verification work
method

8. United States Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Humane Handling Enforcement
 Issue written citations, called non-
compliance records, for regulatory
violations. N = 550/year. For Example:
 Excessive prod use
 Lack of water in pens
 Facility deficiencies
 Suspend livestock slaughter operations for
egregious inhumane handling violations

9. United States Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
 Humane Slaughter of Livestock
 Sections of 9 CFR Part 313
 Facilities
 Handling
 Methods of slaughter/stunning
 FSIS action for noncompliance

10. United States Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Regulatory non-compliance
 9 CFR 313.50 – Tagging of equipment, alleyways,
pens to prevent humane slaughter or handling
 Facilities
 Establishment employee
 Improper Stunning
 9 CFR 500 – Rules of Practice
 Notify Management & Issue written citation
 Equipment rejection
 Suspension w/o prior notification
 Suspension of Inspection w/ prior notification
 Refusal to provide inspection

11. United States Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Humane Handling Suspensions
87
75
68
2009 2010 2011

12. United States Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Top Reasons for Suspensions
 Improper Stunning (failed 1st attempt)
 Inadequate Stunning (return to sensibility)
 Segregation of slow / disabled
 Dragging conscious animals (veal & goats)
 Excessive Prod Use

13. United States Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Poultry Products Inspection Act – PPIA
 Humane methods of slaughter act not applicable
 Different language in the PPIA
 Adulterated if bird dies other than by slaughter
 Apply Good Commercial Practice at 9 CFR 381.65(e):
 Slaughter under GCP
 Poultry has been thoroughly bled and have
stopped breathing prior to entering the scald
system

14. United States Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Humane Handling Enforcement
Initiatives
 FSIS Directive 6900.2 (Aug 2011) – detailed
work methods for inspection personnel
 HSUS and Farm Sanctuary Petitions
 Situation Based humane handling training
 Inspector General review of appeals
 Web posting of HH Enforcement Action
Letters