Information About Registration for Poultry or Rabbit Exemption

Requirements for Poultry/Rabbit Exemption

People or firms wanting to process a low-volume (less than 10,000/year) of Poultry and/or Rabbits must Register (Excel) with the Department of State Health Services Meat Safety Assurance Section, maintain written sanitation standard operating procedures and record the number of animals processed.

1. Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP)

Regulations require that meat and poultry establishments develop, implement and maintain written standard operating procedures for sanitation (Sanitation SOPs). SSOPs must describe all procedures an establishment will conduct daily, before and during operations, to prevent direct contamination or adulteration of product(s). SSOPs must describe which procedures will be conducted before the start of operations and those that will be conducted during operations. SSOPs should include an inspection checklist and a corrective action record to document the daily procedures conducted and any corrective actions taken in response to observed deficiencies.

2. Labeling and Marketing

Meat and poultry products produced under a low-volume poultry/rabbit registration and intended to be sold through locations other than the farm where the livestock is produced, shall be packaged and the container shall be marked with each of the following in letters at least one-quarter inch in height, unless otherwise stated:

• The slaughterer's name and address and the term "Exempted P.L. 90-492" and the statement "Not Produced Under Inspection."
• The common or usual name of the product, if any there be, and if there is none, a truthful descriptive designation of the product.
• A special handling label such as, "Keep Refrigerated," "Keep Frozen," "Keep Refrigerated or Frozen," "Perishable - Keep Under Refrigeration," or any other similar statement that the establishment has received approval from the department to use.
• Safe handling instructions shall be in lettering no smaller than one-sixteenth of an inch in size and shall be prominently placed with such conspicuousness (as compared with other words, statements, designs, or devices in the labeling) as to render it likely to be read and understood by the ordinary individual under customary conditions of purchase and use.