Handbook for Special Poultry Permit
To Slaughter, Prepare and Sell
Whole Raw Poultry
This is an informational guide to aid you in determining the
allowances and limitations of the temporary slaughtering permit for
whole, raw poultry. You may apply for a one-year or two-year special
permit. The permit fee is $75 for one calendar year or $125 for two
calendar years. Your permit is good from date of application
approval and expires December 31 of the one year or two year permit.
As a component to your
special permit application you are required to provide
projected slaughter dates. You must provide prior written
communication of slaughter date additions or deletions to the Food
Safety Program at least one week before the change.
This
special permit to slaughter, prepare and sell whole, raw poultry is very limited in scope.
If you want to sell over 1000 poultry, market the poultry off of the farm, or
process poultry other than your own, you need to contact the Food Safety Program
to explore getting a WSDA Food Processing License.
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Can I slaughter more than 1000 poultry per year under this permit?
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Can I sell cut up poultry or process other people's poultry for
sale off my farm?
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May I sell my slaughtered poultry at the farmers market or any
other location?
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How long do I have to sell the slaughtered birds?
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What records must I keep?
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Where do I get a calibrated thermometer and how do I maintain
it?
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What are the minimum construction requirements for my slaughter
site?
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Do I have to provide lights for the slaughter area?
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What kind of toilet facilities must I provide?
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What is required of personnel slaughtering poultry?
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How do I protect the water supply from contamination?
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What do I have to provide for hand washing?
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Are hand dips required?
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How do I keep slaughtering equipment and contact surfaces clean
and sanitary?
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Do I need a sink for washing my knives, cones and other smaller
pieces of equipment and how do I store my equipment?
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What kind of packaging and/or labeling must I provide for the
slaughtered poultry? How do I manage the storage of the
packaging?
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Can I store detergents, sanitizers and other materials in my
slaughter site?
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Where can I get information on composting offal (non-edible
waste items)? Who approves this waste handling?
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What is Backyard Biosecurity?
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Where can I get help or more information if I notice a flock health issue?
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If I have a change in the slaughter conditions in
the second year of my two-year special permit, what must I do?
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No. Agricultural producers who slaughter more than 1000 poultry per year must comply with the requirements of RCW Chapter 69.07 and
obtain a WSDA Food Processor license or become a USDA inspected
facility. If you would like more information on these options
contact the department.
No. The regulation 16-170 WAC does not allow for the cutting-up
of the slaughtered poultry nor does it allow for the processing of
poultry other than your own raised birds.
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No. The poultry you slaughter under this regulation must be sold
directly from the permitted slaughter site to the end consumer.
You have up to 48 hours to sell the poultry after slaughter
however they must be chilled to a temperature at or below 45 degrees
F. within 4 hours of slaughter. A temperature control must be used
to monitor slaughter cool down temperature by inserting a calibrated
thermometer into the first bird slaughtered and monitor the
temperature to ensure proper chilling. You must record this cooling
time. Cooling conditions must be met unless the customer takes
possession of the poultry within four hours of slaughter.
The following records must be available for inspection and must
be retained for six (6) months after permit expiration:
- Poultry slaughter dates
- Number of poultry slaughtered each date and the cumulative
total per permit period
- Temperature control log monitoring poultry cool down and
storage
- Annual bacteriological water test results (if applicable)
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Thermometers known as dial thermometers able to be calibrated and
are inexpensive and work well. They are available in the kitchen
section of many common retail establishments. Several grocery store
chains also carry them. To calibrate these thermometers place them
in a 12 ounce cup full of ice and a little water and stir the ice
mixture for about a minute. If the thermometer reads 32 degrees F.
the thermometer is fine. If it does not read correctly then adjust
the read of the thermometer by turning the little nut located under
the head of the thermometer and tighten it to read correctly.
(Complete adjusting instructions come with the instrument.) It is
recommended that you jot down the dates of thermometer calibration
in your cooling log.
Calibrate the thermometer often
enough to ensure accuracy and whenever they have been dropped or
otherwise abused.
This regulation 16-170 WAC does not require a permanent
processing structure for the slaughter of pastured poultry.
Overhead, side and ground protection is required when insects, dust,
mud, pests, other contamination is likely to occur. The protection
can be as minimal as tarps, canopies, and floor mats or as complex
as a complete processing building or mobile unit. A grassy, clean
and pesticide-free pasture would meet the intent of this section. If
there is no potential for overhead or ground contamination as
outlined in this section then the entire slaughter and packaging
operation can occur outside, on the ground and in the open.
If the operator plans on slaughtering at night or under low light
conditions adequate illumination must be provided. If a temporary
structure is used adequate lighting must be present.
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An adequate bathroom facility is described in WAC-170-135.
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At least one toilet must be
available and conveniently located at your poultry slaughter
site.
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A domestic toilet is sufficient if
your slaughter operation is a family operation where only family
members are employed. However, if you have employees, you must
provide toilet facilities at your slaughtering site or allow
your employees to use your domestic toilet.
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Portable chemical toilets may be
used if they are conveniently located with a self-closing door,
screened to exclude insects, and properly maintained. Depending
on County Health rules in your county properly constructed
composting toilets may also be used.
- All non-domestic toilet areas must be kept clean, free of
trash and litter, and in good repair. All doors used to enter
the non-domestic toilet area must be self-closing and must not
open directly into your slaughter site.
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Must be authorized by the permit
holder. Unauthorized persons must be kept out of the slaughter
site. Authorized persons are prohibited from smoking, eating or
drinking while actively engaged in slaughtering, preparing or
handling the poultry.
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Any authorized person infected
with a communicable disease, has open sores or infected cuts on
hands, is vomiting or has diarrhea is prohibited from working in
your slaughter site.
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Slaughtering personnel must wear
clean and adequate clothing. The clothing must be clean at the
start of the slaughter-preparation-sale process and changed when
the clothing becomes soiled and no longer suitable to the
specific part of the process (slaughter, preparation or sale) in
which you are engaged. Hair restraints are not required but are
recommended.
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Authorized persons must remove
hand jewelry that cannot be adequately sanitized during periods
when carcasses are handled by hand. If such hand jewelry cannot
be removed, impermeable or disposable gloves may be worn.
Maintain any gloves that are used in an intact, clean, and
sanitary condition.
- All personal garments and belongings must be stored
separately and apart from the slaughter site.
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Be sure that you have left an air gap between the hose or fill
pipe and the vessel or bucket that you are filling. The air gap must
be at least two (2) times the diameter of the fill hose or pipe. If
you don't wish to maintain an air gap, contact your Food Safety
Officer for advice on other means of providing protection of the
water system.
Hands must be thoroughly washed before starting and between each
preparation step. Hands must also be washed after every break. An
adequate hand washing station is described in WAC 16-170-125.
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Anyone involved in your poultry
slaughter process must have access to at least one hand washing
station equipped with warm running water, hand soap, and paper
towels.
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Hand washing stations must be
conveniently located in your slaughter site and near your toilet
facilities.
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If hand washing stations are not
conveniently located in your slaughter site and near your toilet
facilities one option is to provide five-gallon insulated
containers with continuous flow spigots filled with warm water
(between one hundred (100) and one hundred and twenty (120)
degrees Fahrenheit).
- You also need to provide pump type liquid soap, paper towels
and five-gallon buckets to catch rinse water are required on
site and near your toilet facilities.
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No. They are recommended but not required. If used, hand dips are
not a substitute for adequate hand washing and must be maintained at
100ppm of chlorine or 25ppm of iodine and this solution must be
changed every four hours.
Clean and sanitize all your equipment before you begin slaughter
and after you finish slaughtering. Clean and sanitize any knives or
other equipment that falls to the floor or otherwise becomes
contaminated.
You must keep a separate bucket of sanitizing solution in your
slaughter area for rinsing and storing your wipe down cloths that
are used to sanitize the equipment and slaughter/preparation areas.
The sanitizing solution in the bucket must be at least 100 ppm for
chlorine solution and 50ppm for iodine solution. Be sure to use cool
water to make up the solution. This sanitizing water needs to be
changed every one to two hours while you are slaughtering. If you
are interested in buying test strips for your sanitizing solution
you can buy them at local pool and hot tub stores or online from
laboratory supply stores.
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An equipment wash sink is not required. Using food grade hoses
would be sufficient. All your equipment must be stored so it will
not become contaminated between uses. It is acceptable to store your
cleaned and sanitized equipment in a protected area of your home
between uses.
You are not required to provide packaging of the poultry. If you
choose to provide packaging it must be done in new clear plastic
food storage bags, new paper sacks or butcher paper. You must store
packaging up off the floor or other unsanitary surfaces and it must
be kept in closed boxes or cartons prior to use. Any packaging that
falls to the floor must not be used. It is important to insert the
poultry into the bags in a sanitary manner that does not introduce
contamination into the package. The buyer may choose to bring a
cooler or other type of conveyance to transport their poultry.
Also, no label is required on bagged poultry.
You can store commercially purchased detergents, sanitizers and
other materials related to the process in your slaughter site if
they are properly labeled with:
- Product name;
- Chemical description;
- Directions for use;
- Any required precautionary and warning statements;
- First-aid instructions;
- Name and address of the manufacturer or distributor; and
- Any other information required by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency or other laws or rules.
You can store small transport or use containers
containing detergents, sanitizers or other materials within your
slaughter site but only under the following conditions:
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The contents must be properly
identified on the container. Labeling the container with the
common name is acceptable if the original commercially purchased
storage container is on hand and properly identified.
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Food containers must not be used
as containers for detergents, sanitizers or toxic materials.
- Containers used for detergents, sanitizers or other
materials must not be used as food containers.
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Contact your local WSU County Extension office for handouts on
composting methods. The state Department of Ecology is the ultimate
approval agency for your rinse water management and approval of any
plans you might have for composting offal. Often the Department of
Ecology delegates these duties to local county health departments.
It is recommended that you begin by contacting your local health
department for approval of your rinse water and offal management
plans. If the County is not the approval authority they can direct
you to the proper approval entity.
You may contact Andy
Bary, WSU Puyallup, for on-farm poultry offal composting resources.
The website for the WSU Small Farms Team is an excellent resource
for composting information:
http://smallfarms.wsu.edu/animals/poultry.html
As a bird owner, keeping your birds healthy is a top priority.
Biosecurity means doing everything you can to protect your birds
from disease. Your birds can become sick or die from exposure to
just a few unseen bacteria, viruses, or parasites. In a single day,
these germs can multiply and infect all your birds. However, by
practicing backyard biosecurity you can keep your birds safe from
germs by creating and using a biosecurity plan.
In
simple terms, biosecurity is informed common sense. Don't bring
germs to your birds and don't bring your birds to germs. Germs are
persistent, invisible killers that can survive in soil, droppings,
and debris waiting to hitch a ride into your backyard and into your
flock. An outbreak of a bird disease such as exotic Newcastle
disease or highly pathogenic avian influenza could not only harm or
kill your birds, it could spread quickly and kill other nearby
birds. Early detection and reporting is the most important step in
eradicating a disease outbreak.
Biosecurity practices
don't have to be cumbersome or expensive. In fact, a small tub, a
gallon of bleach or disinfectant, and a brush will go a long way
toward protecting your birds from outside disease. Your
property needs to be a safe area and biosecurity practices are
the barriers you can use to keep disease out!
Do not wait
to report unusual signs of disease or unexpected deaths among your
birds. Call your agricultural extension agent, local veterinarian,
the WSDA State Veterinarian (1-360-902-1878), or the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) Veterinary Services office. USDA operates a
toll-free hotline (1-866-536-7593) with veterinarians to help
you. USDA wants to test sick birds to make sure they do not have a
serious poultry disease. There is no charge for USDA veterinarians
to work with you to conduct a disease investigation. Early reporting
is important to protecting the health of your birds!
You can find more information on biosecurity for poultry on the
USDA website,
Biosecurity
for Poultry - Keeping Your Poultry Healthy
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If you have a significant change in the conditions under which a
two-year special permit is issued by the department, be advised that
you must reapply for a new special permit. Significant change means
a substantial change in the information or conditions previously
submitted to the department. Revisions in the site location,
processing steps or water supply require the department's
re-inspection and approval. If you are issued a two-year special
permit and must reapply for a permit, the department will apply
fifty dollars of your two-year permit fee towards the new permit
application fee.
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