Meat Inspection Regulations, 1990

2. (1) In these Regulations,

“Act”

“Act” means the Meat Inspection Act; (Loi)

“adulterated”

“adulterated” means, in respect of a meat product intended for sale, use or consumption as an edible meat product in Canada,

• (a) containing or having been treated with

  • (i) a pesticide, heavy metal, industrial pollutant, drug, medicament or any other substance in an amount that exceeds the maximum level of use prescribed by the Food and Drug Regulations,

  • (ii) an ingredient, a food additive or any source of ionizing radiation not permitted by or in an amount in excess of limits prescribed by these Regulations or by the Food and Drug Regulations,

  • (iii) any poison, decomposed substance or visible contamination, or

  • (iv) any pathogenic microorganism in excess of levels published in the Manual of Procedures, or

• (b) failing to meet the standards set out in Part I; (falsifié)

“Agency”

“Agency” means the Canadian Food Inspection Agency established by section 3 of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act; (Agence)

“animal food”

“animal food” means a meat product identified for use as food for an animal that is not a food animal; (aliment pour animaux)

“ante-mortem examination”

“ante-mortem examination” means, in respect of a bird, other than an ostrich, a rhea or an emu, the examination by the operator under the supervision of an official veterinarian, including the examination of a sample from a shipment of the birds or the examination of the flock information document for a shipment of the birds; (examen ante mortem)

“ante-mortem inspection”

“ante-mortem inspection” means the inspection of a food animal by an official veterinarian or by an inspector under the supervision of an official veterinarian; (inspection ante mortem)

“bird”

“bird” means any species of bird that is slaughtered and processed as a meat product for human consumption and for which an inspection system has been established; (volaille)

“bulk container”

“bulk container” means a container not intended for sale by a retailer to a consumer and includes a shipping container; (contenant de vrac)

“Canadian unit”

“Canadian unit” means a unit of measurement set out in Schedule II to the Weights and Measures Act; (unité canadienne)

“casing”

“casing” means a skinlike container used for a meat product; (boyau)

“commercial sterility”

“commercial sterility” means the condition obtained in a meat product that has been processed by the application of heat, alone or in combination with other treatments, to render a meat product free from viable forms of microorganisms, including spores, that are capable of growing in the meat product at the temperatures at which the meat product is designed to be held during distribution and storage; (stérilité commerciale)

“component”

“component” means an individual unit of food that is combined with one or more other individual units of food to form an ingredient; (constituant)

“condemn”

“condemn” means, in respect of a food animal or a meat product, to determine that the food animal or meat product is inedible; (condamner)

“container”

“container” means a package or confining band in which a meat product is or is intended to be offered for sale, but does not include a lining, a bulk container, or a transport container; (contenant)

“control program”

“control program” means a control program referred to in section 57.2; (programme de contrôle)

“critical control point”

“critical control point” means a point in a process at which control is to be applied in order to prevent or eliminate a hazard or reduce a hazard to an acceptable level; (point de contrôle critique)

“critical factors”

“critical factors” means the physical and chemical factors that affect the ability of the thermal process to achieve commercial sterility in a meat product; (facteurs critiques)

“critical limit”

“critical limit” means the minimum or maximum value to which a hazard must be controlled at a critical control point to prevent or eliminate the hazard or reduce it to an acceptable level; (limite critique)

“cured”

“cured” means, in respect of an edible meat product, that salt together with at least 100 p.p.m. of sodium nitrite, potassium nitrite, sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate, or any combination thereof, was added to the meat product during its preparation; (saumuré)

“decharacterize”

“decharacterize”[Repealed, SOR/92-292, s. 1]

“denature”

“denature”, in relation to a meat product, means to stain the meat product in accordance with section 6.21 or 6.22 of the Health of Animals Regulations or to otherwise treat the meat product to give it an appearance or characteristic such that it cannot be confused with an edible meat product; (dénaturer)

“Director”

“Director” means the Director designated by the President of the Agency. (directeur)

“dress”

“dress” means

• (a) in respect of a slaughtered food animal other than a pig, bird or goat

  • (i) to remove the skin, head and developed mammary glands and the feet at the carpal and tarsal joints,

  • (ii) to eviscerate, and

  • (iii) except in the case of a sheep, calf or domesticated rabbit, to split,

• (b) in respect of a slaughtered pig, to remove the hair, toenails and developed mammary glands, or to remove the things set out in subparagraph (a)(i) in the manner set out therein, and to eviscerate and split,

• (c) in respect of a slaughtered bird, to remove the feathers, hair and head, the feet at the tarsal joints, and the uropygial gland and to eviscerate; and

• (d) in respect of a slaughtered goat, to remove the hair, head, toenails and developed mammary glands, or to remove the things set out in subparagraph (a)(i) in the manner set out therein, and to eviscerate; (habiller)

• (e) [Repealed, SOR/2005-253, s. 1]

“durable life”

“durable life” means the period, commencing on the day on which a meat product is packaged, during which the meat product, when it is stored under conditions appropriate to that product, will retain, without any appreciable deterioration, its normal edibility, palatability, nutritional value and any other qualities claimed for it by the manufacturer; (durée de conservation)

“edible”

“edible” means, in respect of a meat product, a meat product that is fit for use as human food; (comestible)

“egg”

“egg” means

• (a) a processed egg as defined in the Processed Egg Regulations, or

• (b) an egg that has been graded Canada A under the Egg Regulations; (oeuf)

“eviscerate”

“eviscerate” means

• (a) to remove the respiratory and digestive system and the other thoracic and abdominal organs which may include the reproductive and urinary system in respect of

  • (i) a carcass derived from a young chicken whose live weight was 2.7 kg or less, or

  • (ii) a carcass derived from a young duck whose live weight was 4 kg or less,

• (b) in respect of a carcass derived from a bird other than a chicken or duck referred to in paragraph (a), to remove the respiratory, digestive, reproductive and urinary systems and the other thoracic and abdominal organs, and

• (c) in respect of any other carcass, to remove the respiratory, digestive, reproductive and urinary systems, except the kidneys, and the other thoracic and abdominal organs; (éviscérer)

“Executive Director”

“Executive Director” means the Executive Director designated by the President of the Agency; (directeur exécutif)

“extended meat product”

“extended meat product” means an edible meat product to which a meat product extender has been added; (produit de viande avec allongeur)

“farmed game animal”

“farmed game animal”[Repealed, SOR/2004-280, s. 1]

“filler”

“filler” means milk, egg, yeast or any vegetable material or any derivative or combination thereof that is edible and that is not visibly distinguishable after addition to the meat product, but does not include beetroot, tomato or a food additive with the exception of modified starches; (agent de remplissage)

“flavour enhancer”

“flavour enhancer” means an ingredient that enhances the natural flavour of a meat product; (rehausseur de saveur)

“flock information document”

“flock information document” means a flock information document referred to in subsection 66(1); (document d'information sur le troupeau)

“food”

“food” has the same meaning as in the Food and Drugs Act; (aliment)

“food additive”

“food additive” has the same meaning as in Part B of the Food and Drug Regulations; (additif alimentaire)

“food animal”

“food animal” means any animal in the class of mammals or birds that is slaughtered and processed as a meat product for human consumption and for which an inspection system has been established; (animal pour alimentation humaine)

“FSEP Manual”

“FSEP Manual” means the Food Safety Enhancement Program Implementation Manual for Processing Establishments and Shell Egg Grading Stations published by the Agency, as amended from time to time; (Manuel du PASA)

“gelling agent”

“gelling agent” means gelatin, agar or carrageenan; (agent gélifiant)

“HACCP plan”

“HACCP plan” means a hazard analysis critical control points plan that is prepared in accordance with the FSEP Manual for a process or product and that specifies, in respect of the process or product, all the hazards, critical control points, critical limits, monitoring procedures, deviation procedures, verification procedures and records; (plan HACCP)

“ham”

“ham” means the edible meat product that is derived from the hind leg of a dressed swine carcass above the tarsal joint; (jambon)

“hazard”

“hazard” means a biological, chemical or physical agent or factor that has the potential to cause a food to be unsafe for human consumption in the absence of its control; (danger)

“hermetically sealed container”

“hermetically sealed container” means a container that is designed to be and is secure against the entry of microorganisms; (récipient hermétiquement fermé)

“identify”

“identify” means, in respect of a food animal or meat product, to identify by means of a label; (désigné)

“inedible products area”

“inedible products area” means that part of a registered establishment in which inedible meat products are received, held, processed, shipped or otherwise dealt with; (aire des produits incomestibles)

“ingredient”

“ingredient” means an individual unit of food that is combined with one or more other individual units of food to form an integral unit of food; (ingrédient)

“inspected”

“inspected”[Repealed, SOR/2001-167, s. 1]

“inspection”

“inspection” includes

• (a) in respect of an animal, product or other thing, the examination of a sample from a shipment or other collection of animals, products or other things,

• (b) in respect of a process, the verification or monitoring of the process, and

• (c) in respect of a bird, other than an ostrich, a rhea or an emu, the examination of the flock information document for a shipment of the birds; (inspection)

“local government unit”

“local government unit” means a city, metropolitan government area, town, village, municipality or other area of local government, but does not include any local government unit situated within a bilingual district established under the Official Languages Act; (collectivité locale)

“local product”

“local product” means a prepackaged meat product that is manufactured, processed, produced or packaged in a local government unit and sold only in

• (a) the local government unit in which it is manufactured, processed, produced or packaged,

• (b) one or more local government units that are immediately adjacent to the one in which it is manufactured, processed, produced or packaged, or

• (c) the local government unit in which it is manufactured, processed, produced or packaged and in one or more local government units that are immediately adjacent to the one in which it is manufactured, processed, produced or packaged; (produit local)

“low-acid meat product”

“low-acid meat product” means an edible meat product any component of which has a pH value above 4.6 and a water activity above 0.85; (produit de viande peu acide)

“Manual of Procedures”

“Manual of Procedures” means the Meat Hygiene Manual of Procedures published by the Agency, as amended from time to time; (Manuel des méthodes)

“meat”

“meat” means the edible part of a carcass that is the muscle associated with the skeleton, tongue, diaphragm, heart, gizzard or mammalian oesophagus, with or without accompanying and overlying fat, together with those parts of the bones, skin, sinews, nerves, blood vessels and other tissues that normally accompany the muscle and are not ordinarily removed in dressing a carcass, but does not include the muscle associated with the lips, snout, scalp or ears, mechanically separated meat or meat to which an ingredient other than meat has been added; (viande)

“meat by-product”

“meat by-product” means edible blood, an edible organ or edible tissue that was derived from the carcass of a food animal, but does not include meat or mechanically separated meat; (sous-produit de viande)

“meat product extender”

“meat product extender” has the same meaning as in Part B of the Food and Drug Regulations; (allongeur de produit de viande)

“mechanically separated meat”

“mechanically separated meat” means an edible meat product that does not contain more than 0.027 per cent of calcium for every one per cent of protein in the product or any bone particles larger than 2 mm in size and that was obtained by removing most of the bone and cartilage from a comminuted meat product from which the bone and cartilage had not been previously removed; (viande séparée mécaniquement)

“metric unit”

“metric unit” means a unit of measurement set out in Schedule I to the Weights and Measures Act; (unité métrique)

“mother tongue”

“mother tongue” means the language first learned in childhood by persons in any area of Canada and still understood by them as ascertained by the decennial census taken immediately preceding the date on which the products referred to in subsection 97(3) are sold to the consumer; (langue maternelle)

“official languages”

“official languages” means the English language and the French language; (langues officielles)

“official tag”

“official tag” means any mark, imprint, stamp, seal, tag or other identification, including a detention tag, used by an inspector to indicate that an animal, meat product or other thing has been held, detained or condemned by the inspector; (étiquette officielle)

“official veterinarian”

“official veterinarian” means a veterinarian who is designated as an inspector under subsection 13(3) of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act; (médecin vétérinaire officiel)

“operator”

“operator” means a person who is licensed to operate a registered establishment; (exploitant)

“ornamental container”

“ornamental container” means a container that, except on the bottom, does not have any promotional or advertising material thereon, other than a trade-mark or common name and that, because of any design appearing on its surface or because of its shape or texture, appears to be a decorative ornament and is sold as a decorative ornament in addition to being sold as the container of a product; (contenant décoratif)

“post-mortem examination”

“post-mortem examination” means, in respect of a food animal to which a shared inspection program or a post-mortem examination program applies, the examination of the carcass, blood or parts of a carcass of the food animal by the operator under the supervision of an official veterinarian; (examen post mortem)

“post-mortem examination program”

“post-mortem examination program” means a program under which an operator is responsible for the post-mortem examination of food animals; (programme d'examen post mortem)

“post-mortem inspection”

“post-mortem inspection” means the inspection of the carcass, blood or parts of a carcass of a food animal by an official veterinarian or by an inspector under the supervision of an official veterinarian; (inspection post mortem)

“pre-operational sanitation program”

“pre-operational sanitation program”[Repealed, SOR/2004-280, s. 1]

“prepackaged”

“prepackaged” means, in respect of an edible meat product, packaged in a container in the manner in which it is ordinarily sold to or used or purchased by a consumer without being repackaged; (préemballé)

“prepared”

“prepared” means, in respect of an edible meat product, a meat product that has been cooked or dehydrated or to which has been added any substance other than meat, a meat by-product or mechanically separated meat; (préparé)

“prerequisite programs”

“prerequisite programs” means written programs developed for a registered establishment in accordance with the FSEP Manual to ensure compliance with the Act and these Regulations in respect of

• (a) the premises of the registered establishment, including its outside property, buildings and sanitary facilities,

• (b) the registered establishment's water, ice and steam quality programs,

• (c) the storage and transportation of meat products, including temperature control and the vehicles for transporting meat products,

• (d) the storage of material, including incoming material, non-food chemicals and finished products, in the registered establishment, including temperature control,

• (e) the equipment in the registered establishment, including the general design, installation, maintenance and calibration of the equipment,

• (f) the training, hygiene and health of personnel at the registered establishment,

• (g) the sanitation and pest control programs for the registered establishment, and

• (h) the registered establishment's recall procedures and distribution records; (programmes préalables)

“preserved”

“preserved” means, in respect of an edible meat product, salted, pickled, dried, cured, smoked or treated by other similar means permitted by these Regulations, but does not include refrigerated or frozen; (conservé)

“President”

“President” means the President of the Agency; (président)

“principal display panel”

“principal display panel” means

• (a) in the case of a container that is mounted on a display card, that part of the label applied to all or part of the principal display surface of the container or to all or part of the side of the display card that is displayed or visible under normal or customary conditions of sale or use or to both such parts of the container and display card,

• (b) in the case of an ornamental container, that part of the label applied to all or part of the bottom of the container or to all or part of the principal display surface or to all or part of a tag that is attached to the container, and

• (c) in the case of all other containers and bulk containers, that part of the label applied to all or part of the principal display surface; (partie principale)

“principal display surface”

“principal display surface” means

• (a) in the case of a container or bulk container that has a side or surface that is displayed or visible under normal or customary conditions of sale or use, the total area of that side or surface, excluding the top, if any,

• (b) in the case of a container or bulk container that has a lid that is the part of the container displayed or visible under normal or customary conditions of sale or use, the total area of the top surface of the lid,

• (c) in the case of a container or bulk container that does not have a particular side or surface that is displayed or visible under normal or customary conditions of sale or use, any 40 per cent of the total surface area of the container, excluding the top and bottom, if any, if that 40 per cent can be displayed or visible under normal or customary conditions of sale or use,

• (d) in the case of a container or bulk container that is a bag with sides of equal dimensions, the total area of one of the sides,

• (e) in the case of a container or bulk container that is a bag with sides of more than one size, the total area of one of the largest sides, and

• (f) in the case of a container that is a wrapper or confining band that is so narrow in relation to the size of the product contained that it cannot reasonably be said to have any side or surface that is displayed or visible under normal or customary conditions of sale or use, the total area of one side of a ticket or tag attached to such a container; (principale surface exposée)

“process”

“process” means, in respect of a meat product, to substantially change the appearance or nature of a meat product, and includes to debone, slice, comminute, thermally process, preserve, dehydrate, ferment, render, fractionate, defibrinate or add thereto an ingredient other than a meat product permitted to be added by these Regulations, but does not include to dress, trim, refrigerate, freeze or defrost; (transformer)

“ready-to-eat”

“ready-to-eat” means, in respect of a meat product, a meat product that has been subjected to a process sufficient to inactivate vegetative pathogenic microorganisms or their toxins and control spores of foodborne pathogenic bacteria so that the meat product does not require further preparation before consumption except washing, thawing or exposing the product to sufficient heat to warm the product without cooking it; (prêt à manger)

“recipe”

“recipe” means, in respect of a meat product,

• (a) the ingredients of the meat product and the components of the ingredients thereof, including food additives,

• (b) the proportions of those ingredients and components, and

• (c) the method of manufacture and the results of any test conducted on the meat product; (recette)

“refrigerate”

“refrigerate” means to lower the temperature of a meat product to, and to maintain the temperature at, 4°C or lower, but does not include to freeze; (réfrigérer)

“Regional Director General”

“Regional Director General”[Repealed, SOR/2000-184, s. 72; SOR/2001-167, s. 1]

“registration number”

“registration number” means the number assigned to a registered establishment under subsection 27(3); (numéro d'agrément)

“Register of Operators”

“Register of Operators” means the Register of Operators maintained by the Director; (Registre des exploitants)

“render”

“render” means to extract the fat from a meat product by the application of heat; (fondre)

“sanitation program”

“sanitation program” means a written program to ensure that the buildings, equipment, utensils, transport containers and all other physical facilities of a registered establishment are maintained in a sanitary condition; (programme d'assainissement)

“scheduled process”

“scheduled process” means the thermal process alone, or in combination with critical factors, chosen by the operator for a particular meat product, container type and size and unit of thermal processing equipment that will achieve commercial sterility in the meat product; (traitement programmé)

“seasoning”

“seasoning” means a substance listed in Division 7 of Part B of the Food and Drug Regulations; (assaisonnement)

“shared inspection program”

“shared inspection program” means a program in which an operator is responsible for certain parts of the post-mortem examination of food animals; (programme de coïnspection)

“specialty product”

“specialty product” means a prepackaged meat product that is

• (a) a food or beverage that has special religious significance and is used in religious ceremonies, or

• (b) an imported product

  • (i) that is not widely used by the population as a whole in Canada, and

  • (ii) for which there is no readily available substitute that is manufactured, processed, produced or packaged in Canada and that is generally accepted as being a comparable substitute; (produit spécial)

“specified risk material”

“specified risk material” means

• (a) the skull, brain, trigeminal ganglia, eyes, tonsils, spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia of animals of the species Bos taurus or Bos indicus aged 30 months or older, and

• (b) the distal ileum of animals of the species Bos taurus or Bos indicus of all ages; (matériel à risque spécifié)

“split”

“split” means to divide a carcass lengthwise along its median line; (fendre)

“test market product”

“test market product” means a prepackaged meat product that, prior to the date of the notice of intention respecting that product referred to in subsection 97(5), was not sold in Canada in that form and that differs substantially from any other product sold in Canada with respect to its composition, function, state or packaging form; (produit d'essai)

“transport container”

“transport container” includes any conveyance used for the transportation of food animals or meat products; (conteneur)

“water activity”

“water activity” means the ratio of water vapour pressure of a meat product to the vapour pressure of pure water at the same temperature and pressure; (activité de l'eau)

“young chicken”

“young chicken” means a chicken that has flexible cartilage at the posterior end of the breastbone or keel bone, tender meat and soft skin of smooth texture; (jeune poulet)

“young duck”

“young duck” means a duck that has flexible cartilage at the posterior end of the breastbone or keel bone, tender meat and soft skin of smooth texture. (jeune canard)

(2) A reference to a percentage of a meat product or other substance means a reference to a percentage of the meat product or other substance by weight.