I. PURPOSE

This directive provides instructions to inspection program personnel (IPP) on how to verify whether official establishments are maintaining required records concerning suppliers and source materials for raw beef ground at the establishment. FSIS previously issued these instructions in FSIS Notices.

II. BACKGROUND

A. The regulations in 9 CFR 320.1(b)(4) require official establishments and retail stores to keep the following information when they grind raw beef:

1. The establishment numbers of the establishments supplying the materials used to prepare each lot of raw ground beef product;
2. All supplier lot numbers and production dates;
3. The names of the supplied materials, including beef components and any materials carried over from one production lot to the next;
4. The date and time each lot of raw ground beef product is produced; and
5. The date and time when grinding equipment and other related food-contact surfaces are cleaned and sanitized.

B. Under 9 CFR 320.1(b)(4)(iii), a ground beef lot is defined, for the purpose of raw ground beef recordkeeping, as the amount of ground beef produced during particular dates and times, following clean up and until the next clean up.

C. The regulations require the records to be maintained at the location where the raw beef was ground (9 CFR 320.2) and to be maintained for one year (9 CFR 320.3(c))

III. IPP RESPONSIBILITIES IN AN OFFICIAL ESTABLISHMENT THAT GRINDS RAW BEEF

A. IPP are to verify that the official establishment is maintaining records as set out in 9 CFR 320.1(b((4), 320.2 and 320.3(c)).

B. IPP are to verify that official establishments meet these recordkeeping requirements when scheduling and performing a Public Health Information System (PHIS) “Raw Non-Intact HACCP” task or “Heat Treated-Not Fully Cooked-Not Shelf Stable HACCP” task (i.e., for a breaded ground beef product). IPP are to request the production records from the establishment to verify whether the establishment maintains the required information for that lot of raw ground beef.

C. If the official establishment is not maintaining the records, then IPP are to document noncompliance with 9 CFR 320.1(b)(4), 320.2, or 320.3.

D. In a facility that houses both a federally-inspected official establishment and a retail store, Compliance Investigators are to verify whether the retail store complies with the new recordkeeping requirements by following the instructions found in FSIS Directive 8010.1, Methodology for Conducting In-Commerce Surveillance Activities. IPP are to verify whether the official establishment meets the recordkeeping requirements.

IV. CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH AN OFFICIAL ESTABLISHMENT IS NOT REQUIRED TO MAINTAIN GRINDING RECORDS

A. If an establishment either processes all ground beef product into ready-to-eat (RTE) product or moves all ground beef product to another official federally-inspected establishment for further processing into RTE product, IPP are not to verify whether establishments meet these recordkeeping requirements.

B. For example, an establishment grinds beef and produces not ready-to-eat (NRTE) ground beef as one of its products. The establishment ships all of its NRTE ground beef product to another establishment that uses all of the received product to make a RTE product. In this situation, the shipping establishment is not required to maintain grinding records; however, if any of the raw product is not destined for RTE product in an official establishment, the shipping establishment would have to maintain grinding records that would be subject to FSIS review.

V. QUESTIONS

Refer questions regarding this directive to the Office of Policy and Program Development through askFSIS. When submitting a question, use the Submit a Question tab, and enter the following information in the fields provided:

• Subject Field: Enter 5000.10
• Question Field: Enter your question with as much detail as possible.
• Product Field: Select General Inspection Policy from the drop-down menu.
• Category Field: Select Regulations/Agency Issuances from the drop-down menu.
• Policy Arena: Select Domestic (U.S.) Only from the drop-down menu.

When all fields are complete, press Continue and at the next screen press Finish Submitting Question.

NOTE: Refer to FSIS Directive 5620.1, Using askFSIS, for additional information on submitting questions.