Wisconsin Legislature: ATCP 55.07(11)(a)3.

2. A department veterinarian performs an ante mortem and post mortem inspection on the food animal.

(b) Food animals, other than cattle, slaughtered at a meat establishment inspected by the United States department of agriculture under 21 USC 451 to 695.

(c) The mobile custom slaughter of food animals, other than cattle, that are injured within 24 hours prior to slaughter, provided the animals are not diseased.

(d) The mobile custom slaughter of food animals, other than cattle, that are injured more than 24 hours prior to slaughter if all the following apply:

1. The food animals are not diseased.

2. A licensed practicing veterinarian performs ante mortem and post mortem inspections on the slaughtered food animals.

Note: See subs. (6) and (7). A mobile custom slaughter must comply with ss. ATCP 55.08 and 55.09.

(e) Cattle that qualify for exemption under 9 CFR 309.3 based on ante mortem and post mortem inspection by a veterinarian employed by the department or by the United States department of agriculture under 21 USC 451 to 695.

Note: With very limited exemptions, 9 CFR 309.3 prohibits the slaughter of non-ambulatory cattle for human consumption (the prohibition applies to custom-slaughtered animals, as well as animals slaughtered for sale). An animal does not qualify for exemption unless a state or federal veterinarian makes that determination, based on an ante mortem and post mortem examination of the animal.

(9) Carcasses and meat received for processing.

(a) A meat establishment operator shall examine all carcasses and meat received for processing at that meat establishment. The operator shall examine the carcasses and meat before receiving them into any processing or storage area.

(b) A meat establishment operator may not receive, into any processing or storage area, any unclean or apparently adulterated carcass or meat. The operator shall handle, store, and prepare carcasses and meat to prevent contamination of other carcasses, meat and food.

(c) Except as provided in par. (d) or (e), a meat establishment operator may not process any carcass or meat produced by the custom slaughter of a diseased or injured animal.

(d) A meat establishment operator may custom process the carcass or meat produced by the slaughter of a food animal injured within 24 hours prior to slaughter, provided the animal was not diseased.

(e) A meat establishment operator may custom process the carcass or meat produced by the slaughter of a food animal injured more than 24 hours prior to slaughter if all the following apply:

1. The animal was not diseased.

2. A licensed practicing veterinarian performed an ante mortem and post mortem inspection on the slaughtered animal, and certified in writing that the carcass was unadulterated and free of disease.

Note: The department may retain or condemn adulterated or misbranded meat or meat food products, including those produced by custom slaughter or processing (see s. ATCP 55.14). If the department inspects a custom slaughter, the department will follow applicable inspection procedures under this chapter.

(10) Condemned animals and meat.

(a) If the department condemns a food animal on ante mortem inspection, the meat establishment operator shall kill the animal, inject it with a denaturant, and dispose of it as directed by the department. The denaturant shall consist of a 10% solution of carbolic or cresylic acid. A meat establishment operator may use another denaturant if the department pre-approves that denaturant. The meat establishment operator, acting under direct department supervision, shall inject at least 40 ml. of the denaturant into the heavy musculature of each carcass quarter and into each of the abdominal and thoracic cavities.

(b) No person may slaughter, for human consumption, any food animal that the department has condemned as being adulterated or unfit for human consumption. The animal owner or meat establishment operator shall dispose of the condemned animal in a manner directed by the department.

(c) An animal condemned on ante mortem inspection may not be skinned or eviscerated at a meat establishment. This does not prohibit the recovery, under department supervision, of animal parts needed for diagnostic testing required by the department.

(d) No person may process for human consumption, or sell or distribute for human consumption, any meat that the department has condemned as being adulterated. The meat establishment operator shall denature or de-characterize the condemned meat so that the meat is no longer naturally edible by humans. Containers used for condemned meat shall be conspicuously marked “INEDIBLE.”

(e) If the department orders a meat establishment operator to trim any carcass to remove adulterated meat, the operator shall complete the trimming before placing the carcass in a cooler.

(f) A meat establishment operator shall clean and sanitize facilities, equipment, and utensils that have come in contact with any condemned animal or meat before using the facilities, equipment, or utensils in any other slaughter or processing operations.

(11) Humane slaughter and treatment.

(a) Persons slaughtering food animals shall use humane methods. Humane methods include any of the following:

1. Captive bolt devices.

2. Electrical stunning.

3. CO2 gas chamber.

4. Gun shot.

5. Established religious dietary law procedures, such as rabbinical (kosher) procedures.

(b) Persons receiving, transporting, or holding food animals for slaughter shall do so in a humane manner.

(c) If a meat establishment receives food animals that cannot stand or walk, the meat establishment operator shall do all the following:

1. Maintain separate holding pens for those animals, and protect them from physical contact with other animals.

2. Maintain skids, mats, or other department-approved conveyances for moving those animals humanely. A meat establishment operator may not drag an animal that cannot stand or walk, but shall move the animal by means of an approved conveyance.

(d) Meat establishment operators shall construct and maintain livestock pens, driveways, and ramps to prevent injury to animals.

(e) Persons moving food animals to slaughter shall do so in a manner that minimizes animal excitement and discomfort. Persons driving food animals to slaughter shall avoid excessive use of driving implements that may cause unnecessary excitement, pain, or injury to the animals. Persons driving food animals to slaughter may not stab or prod the animals with sharp driving implements.

(f) Food animals held at meat establishments pending slaughter shall have access to drinking water. If they are held for more than 24 hours, they shall also have access to feed.

(g) No livestock, ratites, or captive game animals may be shackled, hoisted, stuck, or cut for slaughter, except according to rabbinical (kosher) or other established religious dietary practices, until the livestock, ratites, or captive game animals are rendered insensible to pain.

Note: See s. 95.80, Stats.

(h) If a bullet, bolt, or other slaughter projectile penetrates the brain of a slaughtered food animal, that brain may not be used for human food.

(i) No head, head meat, or cheek meet from a food animal slaughtered by gunshot may be used for human food. This paragraph does not prohibit the use of the animal’s tongue for human food.

(12) Horses and horse meat. No person may slaughter or process equines at a meat establishment where other domesticated food animals are slaughtered or processed. Equine carcasses, equine meat, and equine meat food products shall be conspicuously labeled “HORSE MEAT” or “HORSE MEAT PRODUCT” in a manner approved by the department.

(13) Records.

(a) Except as provided in par. (b), a person who slaughters a food animal for human consumption, or who processes the meat of a food animal for human consumption, shall make a record of that slaughter or processing. The record shall include all the following:

1. The date and time of slaughter or processing.

2. The number and type of animals slaughtered, and the disposition of the carcasses.

3. The type and amount of meat processed, and the disposition of that meat.

4. Any certificates required under sub. (7).

5. Other relevant information required by the department.

(b) Paragraph (a) does not require a meat establishment operator to duplicate slaughter records kept by the department’s inspector.

(c) Records required under this subsection shall be made at the time the specific event occurs and include the date and time recorded, and shall be signed or initialed by the meat establishment employee making the entry.

(d) A person required to make a record under par. (a) shall keep that record for at least 3 years, and shall make the record available to the department for inspection and copying upon request.

History: CR 01-042: cr. Register March 2002 No. 555, eff. 4-1-02; CR 07-116: am. (1) (a) (intro.), (2) (a) (intro.), (3) (a) (intro.) and (8), cr. (8) (e) Register November 2008 No. 635, eff. 12-1-08; CR 08-075: am. (3) (a) (intro.) Register April 2009 No. 640, eff. 5-1-09; CR 10-122: am. (1) (a) Register July 2011 No. 667, eff. 8-1-11; EmR1213: emerg. am. (1) (a) (intro.), cr. (1) (c), am. (2) (a) (intro.), cr. (2) (d), am. (3) (a) (intro.), cr. (3) (c), eff. 9-13-12; CR 12-040: am. (1) (a) (intro.), cr. (1) (c), am. (2) (a) (intro.), cr. (2) (d), am. (3) (a) (intro.), cr. (3) (c) Register May 2013 No. 689, eff. 6-1-13; CR 14-024: am. (6) (intro.), cr. (6) (d), am. (7) (f) Register May 2015 No. 713, eff. 6-1-15; CR 17-072: am. (title), (1), (2) (title), (a) (intro.), 2., (b), (c) (intro.), 1., 2., (3) (title), (a) (intro.), 2., (b), renum. (4) (a) to (4) and am., am. (5), (6) (intro.), (d), (9) (b), (e) 2., (10) (b), (d), (e), (11) (g), renum. (13) (c) to (13) (d), cr. (13) (c) Register July 2018 No. 751, eff. 8-1-18 except (4), eff. 1-1-19.

ATCP 55.08 Custom processing.

(1) General. A person providing a custom processing service shall do all the following:

(a) Hold a current annual license if required under s. ATCP 55.03.

(b) Hold a current annual registration certificate if required under s. ATCP 55.09 (2).

(d) Mark or label all the resulting meat products “NOT FOR SALE” and all the resulting poultry products “NOT INSPECTED” as provided in sub. (2). A person providing a custom processing service shall keep the service recipient’s meat and poultry products separate from all other food that the service provider holds for others or offers for sale. The person may not sell any of the service recipient’s meat products, or commingle them with any food that the person holds for others or sells.

Note: For example, a person providing custom processing services may not combine saved carcass parts, such as head meat, tongues, hearts, fat, or trimmings, with meat or poultry products processed for other service recipients or purchasers. The licensing exemption under s. ATCP 55.03 (2) (d) allows for the direct sale from a service recipient to customers of up to 1,000 birds.

(e) Return all of the resulting meat and poultry products to the service recipient. The service recipient may use them only for the service recipient’s personal consumption, which may include consumption by members of the service recipient’s household, and the service recipient’s nonpaying guests and employees.

Note: An owner’s nonpaying guests may include nonpaying immediate family members.

(f) Comply with s. ATCP 55.09 if the person engages in mobile custom processing.

(g) Conduct custom processing operations in a sanitary manner.

(h) Create and keep complete and accurate records of all custom processing transactions that are completed upon slaughter of a food animal or receipt of meat for processing. The service provider shall keep the records for at least 3 years, and shall make the records available to the department for inspection and copying upon request. Each record shall include all of the following:

1. The name and address for each individual for whom the person provides mobile custom slaughter or processing service.

2. The number and type of animals slaughtered for each service recipient.

3. The date of each slaughter.

4. The disposition of each carcass. The report shall indicate whether a carcass was transported to another location for processing and, if so, the location to which it was transported.

5. Any certificates required under s. ATCP 55.07 (7).

6. Other relevant information required by the department.

(2) Marking or labeling meat.

(a) A person providing a custom processing service shall mark or label the resulting meat and poultry products with all the following information:

1. The words “NOT FOR SALE” for meat products or “NOT INSPECTED” for poultry products in block letters at least 3/8” high.

2. The name or commonly recognized trade name of the person providing the custom processing service. If the person performs the service at a meat establishment licensed under s. ATCP 55.03, the person may use the meat establishment number assigned under s. ATCP 55.03 (10) instead of the person’s name. If the person provides the service as a mobile custom processing service, the person may use the registration number assigned under s. ATCP 55.09 (2) (g) instead of the person’s name.

Note: The following examples illustrate possible label formats under par. (a):

NOT FOR SALE NOT FOR SALE NOT INSPECTED
XYZ Market WIS 000 ABC FARMS

(b) A person providing a custom slaughter service shall mark the carcass of each custom slaughtered animal with the information required under par. (a). The person shall mark each side, quarter, detached organ, and other part of the carcass. The person shall mark the carcass immediately after slaughter, before the carcass leaves the slaughter site.

(c) A person providing a custom processing service shall apply the label under par. (a) to all packages and containers of custom processed meat and poultry products when those meat or poultry products are packaged or placed in those containers. The person shall individually label sausages that have a diameter of more than 1 1/2” if those sausages are individually packaged, or if they are shipped or stored in unsealed containers.

(3) Custom slaughter and processing schedule.

(a) Except as provided in par. (b), a meat establishment operator may not engage in custom slaughter or other processing operations at a meat establishment while the operator is simultaneously doing any of the following at that establishment:

1. Slaughtering food animals for sale.

2. Processing the meat of food animals for sale.

(b) Paragraph (a) does not apply to any of the following:

1. A department-inspected custom slaughter, or the custom processing of meat from a department-inspected custom slaughter.

2. Simultaneous operations conducted in separate rooms or areas, if approved by the department. The department may approve simultaneous operations that are adequately separated and controlled to prevent cross-contamination or commingling of meat from the separated operations.

History: CR 01-042: cr. Register March 2002 No. 555, eff. 4-1-02; CR 17-072: am. (title), (1) (intro.), (d), (e) to (g), renum. (1) (h) to (1) (h) (intro.) and am., cr. (1) (h) 1. to 6., am (2) (a), (c), (3) (a) (intro.) Register July 2018 No. 751, eff. 8-1-18.