8/13/2019 Graham's Organic Meats Rosebush MI Inhumane Animal Handling USDA Notice of Suspension Enforcement Action

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USD United State sDepartment ofAgricu lture

Electronic Copy Provided ViaE-Mail and Delivered By Courier

Patrici a GrahamPlant Ow nerEstablishment M27435Graham ' s Organic Meats , LLC3653 East WeidmanRo sebu sh, MI 4 8878

Food Safety Field Operationsand InspectionService

NOTICE OF SUSPENSION, REVISION

Dear Ms. Graham :

C hicago District Office1919 S. Highland Av. St. 1 ISCLombard, Illinois 60148630-620-7474

Septemb er 6 , 20 13

This letter confirms the September 5, 2013 , verbal notification provided to you by Dr. Tamara MayberryDavis , Deputy District Manager (DOM) , of the Food Safety and Inspection Service's (FSIS) decision tosuspend the assignment of inspection program personnel from the slaughter process at you restab lishment, located at the above address , as specified in Title 9 of the Code of Federal Regulations (9CFR) 500 .3 (b). This action was taken because of your establishment ' s inabilit y or unwillingness toeffecti vely implement humane methods of slaughtering and handling of animals under the Acts, asoutlined below , and in a manner that complies with FSIS regulatory requirements. This action is basedon FSIS' findings that your establishment failed to comply with the requirem ents of 9 CFR 313. 15 (a)(3) and 313.15 (b) (1) (iv).

Background uthority

The Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) 21 U.S .C. 603 sec. 3 . (b)) state s, for the purpose ofpreventing the inhumane slaughtering of livestock , the Secretary shall cause to be made , by inspectorsappo inted for that purpose, an examination a nd inspection of the method by which cattle , sheep, swine ,goats , horses , mules , or other equines are s laughtered and handled in connection with slaughter in theslaughtering esta bli shmen ts inspected under this Act. The Secretary may refuse to provide inspectio n toa new slaughter ing establishment or may cause inspection to be temporarily s uspended at a s laug hteri ngestabli shment if the Secretary finds that any catt le, sheep, swine , goats , horses , mules , or other equineshave been slaughtered or handled in connection with s laughter at such establishment by any method not

in accordance with Sections 190 l to 1906 of Tit le 7 until the establishment furnishe s assurancessatisfactory to the Secretary that all slaughtering and handlin g in connection with slaughter of livestockshall be in accordance w ith such a method. In addition, under prohibited acts 2 1 U.S.C. 610 sec 10 (b) ,No person , firm or corporation shall , with the respect to any cattle, sheep, swine , goats , horses , mules ,

and other equines , or any carcas ses , part s of carca sses , meat or meat food product s of an y s uch animal sslaughter or handle in connection with slaughter an y such animals in any manner not in accordance withsections 190 l to 1906 of Title 7.

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(b) (7)(C)

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Patricia Graham Own erEs t 27435 Graham's O rganic Meats , LLC. NOS

Page 3 of5September 6 , 2013

T hi s eve nt is nonc ompli ant with 9 CFR 3 13 . 15 (a) (3) which states , Imm edi ate ly a fter the stunningblo w is delivered the animals shall be in a s tat e of complete un conscio usn ess a nd remain in thi scondition throughout sh ackling , sticking and bleeding; and 9 CFR 3 13.15 (b) (1) (iv) which states ,

The stunning operation is an e xacting procedure and require s a well-trained and experienced operato rHe must be able to accurately place the stunning instrument to produce immediate un conscious ness. He

must use the co rrect detonating char ge w ith regard to kind, breed, size, age , and sex of th e animal toproduce the d es ired results.

A beef cow regained consciousness after bein g s tunned , shack led , hoiste d, and cut. Allowing thisanimal to re ga in consciousness after s tunning was egregiously inhumane.

FSIS Directi ve 6900.2 Revision 2, Hum ane Hand ling and Slaughter of Livestock, sta te s th at anegreg iou s event may be subject t o enforcement di screti on and the es tablishm ent is sued a Not ice ofIntended Enforcement (N OIE) rather than a Noti ce of Suspension (N OS) , if the establishment:

I . Doe s not ha ve any recent human e handling rel ated enforcement action s ;

2. Ha s consistently been meeting the humane handling r eg u lator y requirement s;3. Has be en operating under a written animal ha ndling program that establishment man agement hasproffered as a robust systematic approach and made accessible to IPP ; and

4. Has demonstrated the robustness of th e program to IPP b y effectively and consistentlyimpl e menting all aspects of its program.

Your establishment is currently not operating under a written animal handlin g program th at wasproffered as a robust systematic app roac h as described in FSIS Dir ec ti ve 6900.2 Re v. 2. You are beingissued a NOS rather than an NOIE becau se yo u ha ve not implemented a robu st systematic approa ch tohumane handlin g at yo ur facility.

Svstematic pproach to Humane Handling

On September 9, 2004, FSIS pub lished , in the Federal Re g is ter No tice (54 Fed . R eg. 54625) , adocument titled , Humane Hand ling and Slaughter Requirement s and the Merits of a Sy stematicApproach to Meet Such Requirement s . A systemat ic approach to humane h andling is comprised of thefollowing components.

1 Conduct an initial assessment of where , and under what circumstances, livestock ma y experienceexcitement, di scomfort , or accidental injur y while being handled in connection with s laughter,and o f where, and under what c ircumstances, stunning problems may occur;

2. Design facilitie s and implement practices that will minimi ze excitement, di scomfort , and

accidental injury to livestock ;3. Evaluate periodically the handling methods the establishment emplo ys to ensure that tho semethods minimi ze excitement, di sco mfort , or accidental injur y and evaluate tho se stunningmethod s periodicall y to ensure that all li ves tock are rendered in se nsi ble to pain by a single blo w;and

4 . Re spon d to th e evaluations , as appropriate, by addressing problems immediately and byimpro ving th ose practi ces and modif y ing facilities when necessary to minimi ze excitement ,discomfort, and accidental injury t o li vestock.

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Patri c ia Graham Own er Page 4of5Es t. 27 435 Graham ' s Organi c Meats LLC . NOS Sept ember 6 , 20 13

In ord er for slaughter inspecti on to resume at your establishment , your compan y must submit correctiv eact ion s to my attention, whi h addre ss the follow ing :

1. Identify the specific reason(s) why the events described occurred ;2 . Describe the specific action( s) that will be taken to eliminate the cause of the incident andpre vent future recurrence s; and

3. Describe specifically the future monitoring acti vity (ies) that your establishment will use toensure that the actions taken are effective.

Please be advised that your establishment has the right toappeal thi s matter. If you wish to appe al thisaction , you may contact:

Dr. Keith Gilmore

Executive Associate for Regulatory OperationsUSDA , FSIS, OFO210 Walnut St. Room 923Des Moines , IA 50309Telephone: (515) 727-8970 or (785) 766-9830

In addition, your establishment may request a hearing regarding this determination pursuant to the FSISRules of Practice , 9 CFR 500. Rules ofPractice were published in the Federal Register Vol. 64 , No . 228on November 28 , 2003. As specified in 9 CFR 500.5, should your establishment request a hearing, FSISwill file a complaint that will include a request for an expedited hearing. If your establishment wi shes to

request a hearing regarding this determination , it should contact:

DirectorEnforcement and Litigation DivisionOffice of Investigation, Enforcement and AnalysisFood Safety and Inspection ServiceUnited States Department of AgricultureStop Code 3753, PP3, Cubicle 93355 E. Street SWWashington, DC 20024-3221

Telephone: (202) 245-5097Fax: (202) 245-5097

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(b) (7)(C) (b) (7)(C) (b) (7)(C)(b) (7)(C) (b) (7)(C)

have any questi s re ardi feel freeto contactat (616) 304 at (608) 63

at (630) 620 or 630-620-7474. t is ourmatter can be resolved quickl y . We urge your cooperation and voluntary compliance .

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Patri c ia Gra ham OwnerEst. 27435 Graham s Organic Meats LLC. NOS

Sincere ly

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