packaged shall be of such kinds as do not tear readily during use, but remain intact when moistened by the product. Wooden containers to be used for packaging ready-to-cook rabbits shall be fully lined except when the individual carcasses to be packaged therein are fully wrapped. (i) Protective coverings shall be used for the product in the plant and as it is distributed from the plant, as will afford adequate protection for the product against contamination by any foreign substance (including, but not being limited to, dust, dirt, and insects), considering the means intended to be employed in transporting the product from the plant. (j) Refuse may be moved directly to loading docks only for prompt removal. (k) Cleanliness and hygiene of personnel: (1) All employees coming in contact with exposed edible products or edible products handling equipment shall wear clean garments and should wear caps or hair nets, and shall keep their hands clean at all times while thus engaged. (2) Hands of employees handling edible products or edible products handling equipment shall be free of infected cuts, boils, and open sores at all times while thus engaged. (3) Every person after each use of toilet or change of garments shall wash his hands thoroughly before returning to duties that require the handling of edible products or containers therefor, or edible products handling equipment. (4) Neither smoking nor chewing of tobacco shall be permitted in any room where exposed edible products are prepared, processed, or otherwise handled. § 54.244 Temperatures and cooling and freezing procedures. Temperatures and procedures which are necessary for cooling and freezing of domestic rabbits in accordance with sound commercial practice shall be maintained in the coolers and freezers, and chilling temperatures and procedures shall also be in accordance with sound commercial practice. (a) Cooling. Immediately after evisceration and washing of the carcass, it shall be placed in a cooling tank containing running cold tap water to remove the animal heat from the carcass. Carcasses shall not be allowed to remain in the cooling tank for longer than one hour. (b) Air chilling. Immediately after the initial water chilling, the carcasses shall be placed in cooling racks and thereupon placed in a refrigerated cooler with moderate air movements and a temperature which will reduce the internal temperature of the carcasses to from 36° F. to 40° F., both inclusive, within 24 hours. (c) Freezing. (1) When ready-tocook domestic rabbits are packaged in bulk or shipping containers, the carcasses should be individually wrapped or packaged in water-vapor resistant cartons or the containers should be lined with heavy water-vapor resistant paper so as to assure adequate overlapping of the lining to completely surround the carcasses and to permit unsealed closure or sealing in such a manner that watervapor loss from the product is considerably retarded or prevented. The rabbit carcasses should receive an initial rapid freezing under such packaging, temperature, air circulation, and stacking conditions which will result in freezing the carcasses solid in less than 48 hours. (2) Frozen ready-to-cook rabbits shall be held under conditions which will maintain the product in a solidly frozen state with temperature maintained as constant as possible. (d) Refrigeration. Immediately after packaging, all ready-to-cook domestic rabbits, other than those which are shipped from the plant in a refrigerated carrier, should be moved into the freezer, except that a period not exceeding 72 hours will be permitted for transportation and temporary holding before placing in the freezer provided such rabbits are held at not above 36° F. § 54.245 Vermin. Every practicable precaution shall be taken to exclude flies, rats, mice, and other vermin from the official plant. Dogs, cats, and other pets shall be excluded from rooms where edible products are processed, handled, or stored. § 54.246 Exclusion of diseased persons. No person affected with any communicable disease (including, but not being For the purpose of §§ 54.260 to 54.262, the classes of ready-to-cook domestic rabbits are fryer or young rabbit and roaster or mature rabbit. § 54.261 Fryer or young rabbit. A fryer or young rabbit is a young domestic rabbit carcass weighing not less than 11⁄2 pounds and rarely more than 31⁄2 pounds processed from a rabbit usually less than 12 weeks of age. The flesh of a fryer or young rabbit is tender and fine grained and of a bright pearly pink color. § 54.262 Roaster or mature rabbit. A roaster or mature rabbit is a mature or old domestic rabbit carcass of any weight, but usually over 4 pounds processed from a rabbit usually 8 months of age or older. The flesh of a roaster or mature rabbit is more firm and coarse grained, and the muscle fiber is slightly darker in color and less tender and the fat may be more creamy in color than that of a fryer or young rabbit. U.S. SPECIFICATIONS FOR STANDARDS OF QUALITY FOR INDIVIDUAL READY-TOCOOK DOMESTIC RABBITS GENERAL § 54.270 General. Carcasses found to be unsound, unwholesome, or unfit for food shall not be included in any of the quality designations specified in §§ 54.275 to 54.277. STANDARDS OF QUALITY § 54.275 A Quality. To be of A Quality the carcass: (a) Is short, thick, well-rounded, and full-fleshed. (b) Has a broad back, broad hips, and broad, deep fleshed shoulders, and firm muscle texture. (c) Has a fair quantity of interior fat in the crotch and over the inner walls of the carcass, and a moderate amount of interior fat around the kidneys. (d) Is free of evidence of incomplete bleeding such as more than an occasional slight coagulation in a vein. Is free from any evidence of reddening of the flesh due to fluid in the connective tissues. (e) Is free from all foreign material (including, but not being limited to, hair, dirt, and bone particles) and from crushed bones caused by removing the head or the feet. (f) Is free from broken bones, flesh bruises, defects, and deformities. Ends of leg bones may be broken due to removing the feet. § 54.276 B Quality. To be of B Quality the carcass: (a) Is short, thick, fairly well-rounded and fairly well-fleshed. (b) Has a fairly broad back, fairly broad hips, and fairly broad and deepfleshed shoulders, and fairly firm muscle texture. (c) Has at least a small amount of interior fat in the crotch and over the inner walls of the carcass with a small amount of interior fat around the kidneys. (d) Is free of evidence of incomplete bleeding such as more than an occasional slight coagulation in a vein. Is free from any evidence of reddening of the flesh due to fluid in the connective tissues. (e) Is free from all foreign material (including, but not being limited to, hair, dirt, and bone particles) and from crushed bones caused by removing the head or the feet. (f) Is free from broken bones and practically free from bruises, defects, and deformities. Ends of leg bones may be broken due to removing the feet. § 54.277 CQuality. A carcass that does not meet the requirements of A or B Quality may be of C Quality and such carcass: (a) May be long, rangy, and fairly well fleshed. (b) May have thin, narrow back and hips, and soft flabby muscle texture. (c) May show very little evidence of exterior fat. (d) May show very slight evidence of reddening of the flesh due to blood in the connective tissues. (e) Is free from all foreign material (including, but not being limited to, hair, dirt, and bone particles) and from crushed bones caused by removing the head or feet. (f) May have moderate bruises of the flesh, moderate defects, and moderate deformities; may have not more than one broken bone in addition to broken ends of leg bones due to removal of the feet; and may have a small portion of the carcass removed because of serious bruises. Discoloration due to bruising in the flesh shall be free of clots (discernible clumps of dark or red cells). Subpart C-Forms, Instructions, and Applications FORMS OF OFFICIAL IDENTIFICATION § 54.280 Forms of official identification. The forms prescribed in §§ 54.280 to 54.282 are subject to the requirements of 54.60 to 54.63, Identifying and Marking Products. § 54.281 Form of grade mark. The class of the domestic rabbits shall be shown on the label which bears the grade mark if it is not shown prominently elsewhere on the packaging material. The appropriate designation "young," "mature" or "old" may be used as a prefix to the words "domestic rabbit" in lieu of the class name. When the grade mark is applied to an individual carcass which is not individually packaged and labeled, the information with respect to the class of the domestic rabbits shall be included in the same label which bears the grade mark and the plant number or the firm name and address shall also be included on the label which bears The grade mark approved for use pursuant to § 54.61 on a graded product shall be contained within a shield of the form and design indicated in the example in Figure 1. The information which is required in such mark shall be: (a) The letters "USDA," (b) the appropriate U.S. Grade of the product. The information within the shield shall be printed in a light color on a dark field. In addition, a term such as "Federal-State the grade mark. Sec. 55.520 Fees for additional copies of certificates. 55.530 Travel expenses and other charges. 55.550 Laboratory analysis fees. 55.560 Charges for continuous inspection and grading service on a resident basis. 55.570 Fees for service performed under cooperative agreement. SANITARY AND PROCESSING REQUIREMENTS 55.600 General. 55.650 Inspection and grading. Subpart B-Official U.S. Standards for Palatability Scores for Dried Whole Eggs 55.800 Preparation of samples for palatability test. 55.820 Palatability scores for dried whole eggs. AUTHORITY: The provisions of this Part 55 issued under secs. 202-208, 60 Stat. 10871091; 7 U.S.C. 1621-1627. SOURCE: The provisions of this Part 55 appear at 36 F.R. 11795, June 19, 1971, unless otherwise noted. NOTE: Nomenclature changes to Part 55 appear at 37 F.R. 8059, Apr. 25, 1972. Subpart A-Inspection and Grading of Egg Products For the purpose of the regulations in this part, unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms shall be construed, respectively: "Act" means the applicable provisions of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 1087; 7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.), or any other Act of Congress conferring like authority. "Administrator" means the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the Department or any other officer or employee of the Department to whom there has heretofore been delegated, or to whom there may hereafter be delegated the authority to act in his stead. "Applicant" means any interested party who requests any grading or inspection service, or appeal grading or appeal inspection, with respect to any product. "Class" means any subdivision of a product based on essential physical characteristics that differentiate between major groups of the same kind, species, or method or processing. "Condition" means any condition (including, but not being limited to, the state of preservation, cleanliness, soundness, wholesomeness, or fitness for human food) of any product which affects its merchantability; or any condition, including, but not being limited to, the processing, handling, or packaging which affects such product. "Department" means the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "Eggs of Current Production" means shell eggs which have moved through the usual marketing channels since the time they were laid and are not in excess of 60 days old. "Holiday" or "Legal holiday" shall mean the legal public holidays specified by the Congress in paragraph (a) of section 6103, title 5, of the United States Code. "Inspection/grading" means (1) the act of determining, according to the regulations, the class, quality, quantity, or condition of any product by examining each unit thereof or a representative sample drawn by a grader; (2) the act of issuing a certificate; or (3) the act of identifying, when requested by the applicant, any product by means of official indentification pursuant to the Act and this part. or "Inspection and grading certificate" "certificate" means a statement, either written or printed, issued by a grader or inspector pursuant to the Act and this part, relative to the class, quality, quantity, and condition of products. "Inspector/grader" means any employee of the Department authorized by the Secretary, or any other person to whom a license has been issued by the Secretary, to investigate and certify, in accordance with the Act and this part, to shippers of products and other interested parties the class, quality, quantity, and condition of such products. "Interested party" means any person financially interested in a transaction involving any grading, inspection, or appeal grading or inspection of any product. "National Supervisor” means (1) the officer in charge of the service of AMS, and (2) such other employee of AMS as may be designated by him. |