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)
- animal information document
animal information document means a document completed in accordance with subsection 66(1); (document d’information sur l’animal)
- ante-mortem examination
ante-mortem examination means, in respect of a food animal that is slaughtered in a registered establishment, the examination of the animal, or the examination of a sample from a shipment of animals that includes the food animal, and the examination of the animal information document in respect of the animal or the shipment of animals, by the operator under the supervision of an official veterinarian; (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[Repealed, SOR/2014-151, s. 1]
- 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 meat products for human consumption and for which an inspection system has been established for the purpose of these Regulations; (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)
- game animal
game animal means a wild animal, including an animal living in an enclosed territory under conditions of freedom similar to those of wild animals; (gibier)
- 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 an animal, the examination of the animal information document in respect of the animal or the shipment of animals that includes the animal; (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)
- on-farm food safety program
on-farm food safety program means a program that is based on a system that identifies, evaluates and controls hazards on a farm or other place relating to the safety of food derived from a food animal and is implemented by the producer of the animal; (programme de salubrité des aliments à la ferme)
- 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, material, 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 has the same meaning as in section 6.1 of the Health of Animals Regulations; (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.
- SOR/92-292, s. 1
- SOR/93-160, s. 1
- SOR/94-683, s. 4
- SOR/95-248, s. 1
- SOR/95-475, s. 5
- SOR/97-292, s. 29
- SOR/98-133, s. 1
- SOR/99-369, s. 1
- SOR/2000-184, s. 72
- SOR/2001-167, s. 1
- SOR/2002-335, s. 1
- SOR/2002-354, s. 24(F)
- SOR/2003-6, s. 81
- SOR/2004-280, s. 1
- SOR/2005-253, s. 1
- SOR/2006-147, s. 29
- SOR/2009-220, s. 5(F)
- SOR/2011-205, s. 42
- SOR/2011-234, s. 1
- SOR/2012-286, s. 15
- SOR/2014-151, s. 1
- Date modified: