Provincial Abattoir Handbook

Provincial abattoir operators and meat inspectors (health officers) play a critical role in the food supply chain. They help ensure the safe and hygienic handling of meat and meat products, minimize the risk of foodborne illness, and ensure animals are handled and harvested humanely. This handbook for provincial abattoir operators and meat inspectors is designed to provide information on operational practices within provincial abattoirs. It covers the following topics:

• Dressing Procedures: Proper techniques for dressing of carcasses
• Organ Harvesting: Best practices for the hygienic removal and handling of organs for human consumption or further processing
• Specified Risk Material (SRM) Management: Guidelines for identifying, segregating, and disposing of SRM
• Use of Inedible Material Generated at an Abattoir for Animal Food: Operational guidelines for provincial abattoir operators for harvesting and handling inedible material to be used as animal food

Standard Operating Procedures for Organs Harvesting - Electronic Templates

• Harvesting Brains/Whole Heads - Mammals (Word document 37 KB)
• Harvesting Brains/Whole Heads - Poultry (Word document 38 KB)
• Harvesting Feet or Paws - Mammals (Word document 37 KB)
• Harvesting Feet or Paws - Poultry and Rabbits (Word document 37 KB)
• Harvesting Gastrointestinal Tracts (Word document 36 KB)
• Harvesting Gizzards (Word document 35 KB)

 For more information, email the Food Safety and Inspection Branch.