9 CFR 94.4 – Cured or cooked meat from regions where foot-and-mouth disease exists
(a) The importation of cured meats derived from ruminants or swine, originating in any region where foot-and-mouth disease exists, as designated in § 94.1, is prohibited unless the following conditions have been fulfilled:
(1) All bones shall have been completely removed in the region of origin.
(2) The meat shall have been held in an unfrozen, fresh condition for at least 3 days immediately following the slaughter of the animals from which it was derived.
(3)(i) The meat shall have been thoroughly cured and fully dried in such manner that it may be stored and handled without refrigeration, as in the case of salami and other summer sausages, tasajo, xarque, or jerked beef, bouillon cubes, dried beef, and Westphalia, Italian and similar type hams. The term “fully dried” as used in this paragraph means dried to the extent that the water-protein ratio in the wettest portion of the product does not exceed 2.25 to 1.
(ii) Laboratory analysis of samples to determine the water-protein ratios will not be made in the case of all shipments of cured and dried meats. However, in any case in which the inspector is uncertain whether the meat complies with the requirements of paragraph (a)(3)(i) of this section, he will send a sample of the meat representative of the wettest portion to the Meat Inspection Division for analysis of the water-protein ratio. Pending such analysis the meat shall not be released or removed from the port of arrival.
(4) The cured meat shall be accompanied by a certificate issued by an official of the national government of the region of origin who is authorized to issue the foreign meat inspection certificate required by § 327.4 of this title, stating that such meat has been prepared in accordance with paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2) and (a)(3)(i) of this section. Upon arrival of the cured meat in the United States, the certificate must be presented to an authorized inspector at the port of arrival.
(b) The importation of cooked meats from ruminants or swine originating in any region where foot-and-mouth disease exists, as designated in § 94.1, is prohibited, except as provided in this section.
(1) The cooked meat must be boneless and must be thoroughly cooked.
(2) The cooked meat must have been prepared in an establishment that is eligible to have its products imported into the United States under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. § 601 et seq.) and the regulations in 9 CFR 327.2; must meet all other applicable requirements of the Federal Meat Inspection Act and regulations thereunder (9 CFR Chapter III); and must have been approved by the Administrator in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section.
(3) Canned product (canned meat), as defined in part 431 of this title, is exempt from the requirements in this section.
(4) Ground meat cooked in an oven. Ground meat must be shaped into patties no larger than 5 inches in diameter and 1-inch thick. Each patty must weigh no more than 115 grams, with fat content no greater than 30 percent. These patties must be broiled at 210 °C for at least 133 seconds, then cooked in moist heat (steam heat) in a continuous, belt-fed oven for not less than 20 minutes, to yield an internal exit temperature of at least 99.7 °C, as measured by temperature indicator devices (TID’s) placed in temperature monitor patties positioned, before the belt starts moving through the oven, on each of the predetermined cold spots along the oven belt. TID’s must be used at the beginning of each processing run.
(5) Meat cooked in tubes. Ground meat (which must not include cardiac muscle), cubes of meat, slices of meat, or anatomical cuts of meat (cuts taken from the skeletal muscle tissue) weighing no more than 5 kg (11.05 lbs) must be loaded into a flexible or semiflexible cooking tube constructed of plastic or other material approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The meat must then be cooked in either boiling water or in a steam-fed oven, in either a batch cooker or a continuous cooker, to reach a minimum internal temperature of 79.4 °C (175 °F) at the cold spot after cooking for at least 1.75 hours. Thoroughness of cooking must be determined by a TID registering the target temperature at the cold spot, or by the pink juice test as follows:
(i) Cubes of meat and ground meat. For cubes of meat, at least 50 percent of meat pieces per tube must be 3.8 cm (1.5 in) or larger in each dimension after cooking or, if more than 50 percent of the cubes of meat pieces per tube are smaller than 3.8 cm (1.5 in) in any dimension after cooking, or if the meat is ground meat, an indicator piece consisting of a single piece of meat of sufficient size for a pink juice test to be performed (3.8 cm (1.5 in) or larger in each dimension after cooking) must have been placed at the cold spot of the tube.
(ii) Slices of meat. At least 50 percent of the slices of meat must be 3.8 cm (1.5 in) or larger in each dimension after cooking or, if more than 50 percent of meat pieces are smaller than 3.8 cm (1.5 in) in any dimension after cooking, an indicator piece of sufficient size for a pink juice test to be performed (3.8 cm (1.5 in) or larger in each dimension after cooking) must be placed at the cold spot of the tube.
(iii) Anatomical cuts of meat. An indicator piece removed from an anatomical cut of meat after cooking must be removed from the center of the cut, farthest from all exterior points and be 3.8 cm (1.5 in) or larger in each dimension for performance of the pink juice test.
(6) Further processing of meat cooked in tubes. Cubes of meat, slices of meat, or anatomical cuts of meat (cuts taken from the skeletal muscle tissue) cooked in tubes in accordance with paragraph (b)(5) of this section may be processed further after cooking if the following provisions are met:
(i) For meat that is cooked and is intended for further processing, up to two tubes from each batch per cooker must be randomly selected by the official of the National Government of the region of origin who is authorized to issue the meat inspection certificate required by § 327.4 of this title. If a TID is not used, a cylindrical or square piece of at least 3.8 cm (1.5 in) in each dimension must be cut from the cold spot of each tube. The cylindrical or square piece will be the indicator piece for the pink juice test. The indicator piece or piece containing the TID must be sealed in plastic or other material approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and be accompanied by a certificate issued by the official who selected the tube. The certificate must provide the date the tube was cooked and the cooker and batch number, and the date the tube was selected for sampling. Each batch per cooker must have at least one but no more than two indicator pieces or pieces containing TID’s. All indicator pieces and pieces containing TID’s must be individually sealed, properly labeled, and enclosed together in one sealed box that accompanies the shipment. Any indicator pieces or pieces containing TID’s that are not used to accompany a shipment to the United States must be destroyed following loading of the batch into a container; and
(ii) After removing the indicator piece or piece containing a TID, all remaining meat from the same batch may be cut into smaller cubes and sealed in plastic or other material approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. After being processed into smaller cubes once, the meat may not be further processed before shipment to the United States. The cubes of meat and the indicator piece or piece containing a TID must be accompanied to the United States by a certificate as provided in paragraph (b)(8) of this section.
(7) Any TID used in accordance with paragraph (b)(4) or (b)(5) of this section must remain in the meat, as originally inserted, and must accompany the cooked meat whose temperature it has gauged when that meat is shipped to the United States.
(8) Pork rind pellets (pork skins). Pork rind pellets (pork skins) must be cooked in one of the following ways:
(i) One-step process. The pork skins must be cooked in oil for at least 80 minutes when oil temperature is consistently maintained at a minimum of 114 °C.
(ii) Two-step process. The pork skins must be dry-cooked at 260 °C for approximately 210 minutes after which they must be cooked in hot oil (deep-fried) at 104 °C for an additional 150 minutes.
(9) Certificate. (i) The cooked meat must be accompanied by a certificate issued by an official of the National Government of the region of origin who is authorized to issue the foreign meat inspection certificate required under § 327.4 of this title, stating: “This cooked meat produced for export to the United States meets the requirements of title 9, Code of Federal Regulations, § 94.4(b).” Upon arrival of the cooked meat in the United States, the certificate must be presented to an authorized inspector at the port of arrival.
(ii) For cooked meat that is further processed in accordance with paragraph (b)(6) of this section, the certificate must include the following statement, in addition to the certification required under paragraph (b)(9)(i) of this section: “No more than two tubes were randomly selected per batch per cooker for cutting an indicator piece or obtaining a piece containing a TID. The indicator piece or piece containing a TID represents a shipment of (describe form of processed product—e.g., diced cubes of a particular size). A piece containing a TID or a piece 3.8 cm (1.5 in) or larger in each dimension was cut from the cold spot of the tube, and was sealed and marked with the following cooking date, cooker, and batch: __________ and the following date of selection of the tube__________. The total number of indicator pieces or pieces containing TID’s enclosed in a sealed box is__________.”
(10) The meat is inspected by an FSIS inspector at a port of arrival in a defrost facility approved by the Administrator
(i) Request for approval of any defrost facility must be made to the Administrator. The Administrator will approve a defrost facility only under the following conditions:
(A) The defrost facility has equipment and procedures that permit FSIS inspectors to determine whether meat is thoroughly cooked;
(B) The defrost facility is located at a port of arrival; and
(C) The defrost facility is approved by the Food Safety and Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
(ii) The Administrator may deny approval of any defrost facility if the Administrator determines that the defrost facility does not meet the conditions for approval. If approval is denied, the operator of the defrost facility will be informed of the reasons for denial and be given an opportunity to respond. The operator will be afforded an opportunity for a hearing with respect to any disputed issues of fact. The hearing will be conducted in accordance with rules of practice that will be adopted for the proceeding.
(iii) The Administrator may withdraw approval of any defrost facility as follows: (A) When the operator of the defrost facility notifies the Administrator in writing that the defrost facility no longer performs the required services; or (B) when the Administrator determines that the defrost facility does not meet the conditions for approval. Before the Administrator withdraws approval from any defrost facility, the operator of the defrost facility will be informed of the reasons for the proposed withdrawal and given an opportunity to respond. The operator will be afforded a hearing with respect to any disputed issues of fact. The hearing will be conducted in accordance with rules of practice that will be adopted for the proceeding. If approval of a defrost facility is withdrawn, the Administrator will remove its name from the list of approved defrost facilities.
(c) Meat processing establishment; standards. (1) Before the Administrator will approve a meat processing establishment for export shipment of cooked meat to the United States, the Administrator must determine:
(i) That the meat processing establishment has furnished APHIS with a description of the process used to inactivate FMD virus that may be present in meat intended for export to the United States, and with blueprints of the facilities where this meat is cooked and packaged;
(ii) That an APHIS representative has inspected the establishment and found that it meets the standards set forth in paragraph (c)(2) of this section;
(iii) That the operator of the establishment has signed a cooperative service agreement with APHIS, stating:
(A) That all cooked meat processed for importation into the United States will be processed in accordance with the requirements of this part;
(B) that a full-time, salaried meat inspection official of the National Government of the exporting region will supervise the processing (including certification of the cold spot) and examination of the product, and certify that it has been processed in accordance with this section; and
(C) that APHIS personnel or other persons authorized by the Administrator may enter the establishment, unannounced, to inspect the establishment and its records; and
(iv) That the operator of the establishment has entered into a trust fund agreement with APHIS and is current in paying all costs for an APHIS representative to inspect the establishment for initial evaluation, and periodically thereafter, including travel, salary, subsistence, administrative overhead, and other incidental expenses (including an excess baggage provision up to 150 pounds). In accordance with the terms of the trust fund agreement, before the APHIS representative’s site inspection, the operator of the processing establishment must deposit with the Administrator an amount equal to the approximate cost of one inspection by an APHIS representative, including travel, salary, subsistence, administrative overhead, and other incidental expenses (including an excess baggage provision up to 150 pounds). As funds from that amount are obligated, a bill for costs incurred based on official accounting records will be issued, to restore the deposit to the original level, revised as necessary to allow for inflation or other changes in estimated costs. To be current, bills must be paid within 14 days of receipt.
(2) Establishment. An APHIS representative will conduct an on-site evaluation, and subsequent inspections, as provided in § 94.4(c)(1), to determine whether the following conditions are met:
(i) The facilities used for processing cooked meat in the meat processing establishment are separate from the facilities used for processing raw meat (precooking, boning, preparation, and curing), with only the through-the-wall cooking system through which the meat product is delivered at the end of the cooking cycle connecting them; and there is at all times a positive air flow from the cooked to the raw product side;
(ii) The cooking equipment has the capacity to cook all meat pieces in accordance with § 94.4(b)(4) or (b)(5);
(iii) Workers who process cooked meat are at all times kept separate from workers who process raw meat, and have, for their exclusive use: A separate entrance, dining area, toilets, lavatories with cold and hot water, soap, disinfectants, paper towels, clothes hampers and waste baskets for disposal, and changing rooms stocked with the clean clothing and rubber boots into which all persons must change upon entering the establishment. Workers and all other persons entering the establishment must wash their hands and change into the clean clothing and boots provided in the changing rooms before entering the cooking facilities, and must leave this clothing for laundering and disinfecting before exiting from the establishment, regardless of the amount of time spent inside or away from the establishment;
(iv) Original records identifying the slaughtering facility from which the meat was obtained and the date the meat entered the meat processing establishment, and original certification (including temperature recording charts and graphs), must be kept for all cooked meat by the full-time salaried meat inspection official of the National Government of the exporting region assigned to the establishment, and must be retained for 2 years.