Appendix B Compliance Guidelines for Cooling Heat-Treated Meat and Poultry Products
DOWNLOADMarch 17, 2020
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Establishments producing ready-to-eat roast beef, cooked beef and corned beef products, fully cooked, partially cooked, and char-marked meat patties, and certain partially cooked and ready-to-eat poultry products are required by FSIS to meet the stabilization performance standards for preventing the growth of spore-forming bacteria (9 CFR §§ 318.17(a)(2), 318.23(d)(1), and 381.150(a)(2), respectively). Further, FSIS requires meat and poultry establishments, if they are not operating under a HACCP plan, to demonstrate how their processes meet these stabilization performance standards within a written process schedule validated for efficacy by a process authority (§§ 318.17(b) and (c); 318.23(d)(2) and (3); and 381.150(c) and (d)).
To assist establishments in meeting the stabilization requirements, FSIS is issuing these compliance guidelines, which are based upon FSIS Directives and the product cooling requirements contained in previous regulations. Establishments may choose to employ these guidelines as their process schedules. FSIS considers these guidelines, if followed precisely, to be validated process schedules, since they contain processing methods already accepted by the Agency as effective.
Also within these guidelines, FSIS has provided discussion regarding disposition of product following cooling deviations and advice for the development of customized procedures for meeting the stabilization performance standards.
