HACCP Applications in Red Meat Slaughterhouses
For a red meat slaughterhouse to meet HACCP and ISO 22000 requirements, planning must begin at the project design stage of the facility.
First, the class and scope of the slaughterhouse must be defined. As is known, there is a regulation entitled “Regulation on the Working and Inspection Principles of Red Meat and Meat Products Production Facilities.” One of the key requirements of the ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System is compliance with legal requirements. Therefore, the infrastructure must conform to the applicable legislation and regulations.
When we examine the “Regulation on the Working and Inspection Principles of Red Meat and Meat Products Production Facilities,” the following applies:
Classification Requirements
The table below summarizes slaughterhouse classification criteria:
| Slaughterhouse Class | Description |
|---|---|
| Class 1 | A slaughterhouse meeting all conditions of the Regulation, with no limitation on daily slaughter capacity. Requirements depend on the size of the slaughter hall, the ability to perform slaughter and subsequent operations hygienically, the capacity of cold rooms, and the size of animal holding pens. |
| Class 2 | Meets all requirements of the Regulation and can slaughter up to 18 slaughter units per day. |
| Class 3 | Meets all requirements of the Regulation and can slaughter up to 8 slaughter units per day. |
Location-related requirements:
- Urban areas: The perimeter of the slaughterhouse must be surrounded by a wall at least 1.5 m high.
- Outside urban areas: The slaughterhouse must still be enclosed, but the 1.5 m wall height is not mandatory.
Cold Storage:
Cold rooms must maintain temperatures of +4 °C / −18 °C, and their ability to cool must be verified. Surfaces must be easy to clean and disinfect, made of materials with low bacterial retention, and designed to minimize cross-contamination risks.
Processing Surfaces:
Surfaces used for slaughtering, cutting, and sorting must be waterproof, easy to clean, and properly sloped to allow correct drainage and prevent water accumulation.
Production Rooms:
Workflow must be designed from clean to dirty areas. Odor drains and covered gratings must be installed.
Doors of Edible-Meat Rooms:
Doors should be double-swing or automatic and designed to minimize cross-contamination.
According to ISO 22000:2018, one of the core HACCP requirements is the presence of a HACCP Plan.
Example HACCP Plan for a Slaughterhouse
| Process Step | Hazard (B/P/F)* | Category | Critical/Operational Limit | Monitoring (Method • Frequency • Responsible) | Corrective Action | Records/Verification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Animal reception & lairage | B: animals carrying/ suspected of zoonoses; P: veterinary drug residues; F: trauma | OPRP | Ear tag/passport/transport docs complete; ante-mortem inspection “Acceptable” | Document + visual ante-mortem • each batch 100 % • Vet | Quarantine or reject non-compliant animals; stop flock movement | Entry & ante-mortem form; quarantine log; traceability test |
| 2. Stunning & bleeding | B: regurgitation, fecal contamination; F: equipment parts | PRP/OPRP | Humane stunning; bleeding time per SOP | Observation • every shift • Quality/Safety Officer | Re-stun if needed; segregate contaminated carcass | Stunning/bleeding schedule; maintenance records |
| 3. Hide removal (post-skinning) | B (critical): fecal/skin microflora | CCP-1 | Visual zero tolerance for dirt/feces/rumen content; knife sterilization ≥ 82 °C | Visual check of each carcass; sterilizer ≥ 82 °C hourly • Quality/Safety Officer | Local trimming; segregate if widespread; reheat sterilizer | Carcass hygiene form; knife sterilizer log; internal audit |
*B: Biological, P (K): Chemical, F: Physical hazards.
Another key ISO 22000 HACCP requirement for slaughterhouses is the existence of a Traceability Procedure.
Example Traceability Procedure
(Not reproduced here in detail; to be tailored to facility operations.)
Before starting operations, the slaughterhouse must be inspected and approved by the Provincial/District Agriculture Directorate.
For licensing, these authorities ask specific HACCP-related audit questions, some of which include:
III. HACCP Requirements – Sample Audit Questions
- Has an HACCP team been formed and products defined?
- Are there detailed flow diagrams for the entire production process?
- Have all mandatory physical, microbiological, and chemical hazards been identified?
- Have Critical Control Points (CCPs) or Control Points (CPs) been correctly determined?
- Are critical limits established in line with legal requirements and do they clearly separate acceptable from unacceptable?
- Are monitoring procedures at CCPs or CPs correctly designed?
- Are monitoring procedures effective and supported by records?
- Are corrective action procedures for CCP/CP deviations established?
- Is the effectiveness of corrective actions documented?
- Do procedures include microbiological sampling and analysis, and are appropriate measures taken in case of non-conformance?
- Are verification procedures, including microbiological sampling, supported by records?
- Are daily HACCP-based controls and activities recorded?
- Are HACCP plans reviewed and updated when changes occur in suppliers, products, applications, equipment, legislation, or customer complaints?
Before an inspection, slaughterhouses must already have a functioning HACCP system and be able to operate it effectively. Therefore, pre-inspection preparation is critical.
For more detailed information or to obtain comprehensive HACCP documentation for a red meat slaughterhouse, please contact us.