3. (1) No person other than a grader shall grade a livestock carcass or a poultry carcass for the purposes of the Act and these Regulations.

(2) No grader shall grade a livestock carcass at an establishment or a cutting establishment unless one of the following persons has requested grading for the livestock carcass:

• (a) a person in authority at the establishment or cutting establishment;

• (b) the producer;

• (c) the agent of the producer; or

• (d) the person in possession of the livestock carcass.

(3) No grader shall grade a livestock carcass unless

• (a) it bears a meat inspection legend stamp or, in the case of an imported beef carcass, the official inspection mark of the government of the country of origin;

• (b) is graded

  • (i) in the case of a bison carcass, a hog carcass or an ovine carcass, at the establishment in which the animal was slaughtered,

  • (ii) in the case of a veal carcass, at the establishment in which the animal was slaughtered or at the cutting establishment, or

  • (iii) in the case of a beef carcass, at the establishment in which the animal was slaughtered or at a cutting establishment that is registered under the Meat Inspection Act;

• (c) has been weighed by an approved weighmaster using an approved scale; and

• (d) is presented for grading

  • (i) at a grading stand where the lighting intensity, measured at the grading stand, is not less than 1 000 lx, or

  • (ii) in a cooler where the lighting intensity, measured at the loin level of the livestock carcass, is not less than 200 lx.

(4) No grader shall, when grading a livestock carcass, assign a grade to the livestock carcass unless it meets the standards set out in these Regulations for that grade.

(5) [Repealed, SOR/2000-184, s. 40]

(6) No grader shall grade a beef carcass or a bison carcass unless the carcass has, at least 10 minutes before grading and to the satisfaction of the grader, been knife-ribbed by an employee of the establishment.

(7) No grader shall grade a veal carcass unless an employee of the establishment or cutting establishment, as the case may be, has, at least 10 minutes before grading and to the satisfaction of the grader, made a fresh cut on the lean of the brisket in order to enable the grader to determine the colour reading of the veal carcass.

(8) No grader shall grade a livestock carcass at an establishment or a cutting establishment, as the case may be, unless, at the time of grading, the establishment or cutting establishment has adequate facilities for weighing and grading livestock carcasses.

(8.1) A grader may grade a livestock carcass with designated grading equipment only if the equipment is functioning properly and is accurate.

(9) Where, at an establishment with a single grading stand, the rate of grading at the grading stand rises to more than 400 beef carcasses per hour, the establishment shall not be considered to have adequate facilities for the purposes referred to in subsection (8) unless the establishment provides a second grading stand for the grading of those carcasses.

(10) and (11) [Repealed, SOR/2000-184, s. 40]

(12) A grader who uses a probe in an establishment shall

• (a) verify the accuracy of the probe;

• (b) notify a person in authority at the establishment of any probe malfunction; and

• (c) after grading, store the probe in a compartment at the grading stand.

(13) [Repealed, SOR/2000-184, s. 40]

(14) Subject to subsection (15), no employee of an establishment shall trim a livestock carcass before it is weighed, except on the direction of an inspector.

(15) [Repealed, SOR/2000-184, s. 40]

(16) No grader shall grade an eviscerated poultry carcass unless

• (a) the carcass is from poultry slaughtered in an establishment;

• (b) the carcass has been inspected under the Meat Inspection Act or under an Act of the legislature of a province that provides for the inspection of processed poultry;

• (c) the flesh or skin of a chilled carcass is not dried out;

• (d) the carcass is not discoloured from insufficient draining of blood;

• (e) the carcass has no more than one heart, liver, gizzard and neck packed with it or inserted into it;

• (f) the breast bone is intact, in the case of a chicken carcass weighing more than 900 g;

• (g) the carcass has not been basted or stuffed; and

• (h) the carcass meets the standards for a grade set out in Part VII.

(17) No grader shall grade a partially eviscerated poultry carcass unless, in addition to meeting the terms and conditions of grading set out in subsection (16),

• (a) the epidermis is removed from the feet and shanks;

• (b) the toenails are removed;

• (c) the head, if present, is wrapped; and

• (d) the mouth, if present, is clean.

(18) No grader shall grade a poultry carcass in a place other than an establishment.