Lot inspections and on-line inspections

The inspection of boneless meat shall follow either one of two plans, lot inspection or on-line inspection. (1) Lot Inspection: The establishment shall be responsible for grouping the product into coded lots which shall be acceptable to the Authorised Officer, and for adequately identifying and re-conditioning rejected lots– (a) the Authorised Officer shall after each lot is completely assembled, determine the size of the lot in pounds weight and select the indicated sampling plan from Table I. The Authorised Officer may select a larger sample for greater assurance; (b) the Authorised Officer shall randomly select the required number of cartons from the lot in proportion to the different code marks and remove 12-pound samples from each of the cartons; (c) the Authorised Officer shall examine the samples of the product thoroughly and classify the defects according to Table II for cattle, sheep or goat meat or Table III for meat from swine; (d) the Authorised Officer shall accept or reject the lot according to the accept-reject criteria as shown in Table I; (e) after the rejected lot has been reconditioned by the establishment, the Authorised Officer shall re-inspect the rejected lot at a sampling rate one plan higher than the original plan (Table I). (2) On-Line For this the establishment must have a record of producing a good clean Food and Drugs 7 product, and approval of the Authorised Officer shall be required– (a) the Authorised Officer shall sample the product by taking a 3-pound sample from each production line, at least each half hour. The sampling point shall be close to where the product enters the containers; (b) the Authorised Officer shall examine each sample unit and properly classify its defects according to Table II for cattle, sheep, or goat meat or Table III for meat from swine; (c) the Authorised Officer shall evaluate the individual (30 pounds) sample unit limits and the cumulative total limits as per Table I; (d) the Authorised Officer shall reject and hold the rejected product when it exceeds the limits. Such product shall be re-conditioned and re- inspected after re-conditioning; (e) the Authorised Officer shall follow lot inspection procedures until 60,000 pounds or two days’ production is completed, whichever is the less, before on-line inspection shall be resumed. (3) The Authorised Officer shall– (a) assure that the inspectors properly judge the defects; (b) inspect a 30-pound sample four times a day or two 30 lb.-samples on each patrol visit or the product available at the time of the visit; 8 Food and Drugs (c) observe the cleanliness of the carcasses before (d) if a rejection limit is reached, confirm that all the product on hand is cleaned and re- inspected. (4) If an unacceptable product is passed by the inspector, the Authorised Officer in charge shall enforce product lotting and holding and shall insist on lot-by-lot inspection under his close surveillance until he feels that the establishment may resume on- line inspection. Lot inspection shall continue until 60,000 lbs. or two days’ production has been processed and inspected without rejection.