The purpose of this chapter is to implement chapter 69.07 RCW by establishing rules relating to the:

(1) Issuance of special permits regulating the slaughter, preparation and sale of one thousand or fewer whole raw poultry in a calendar year by the agricultural producer when the poultry are sold directly to the ultimate consumer at the producer's farm.

(2) Conditions under which poultry identified in this chapter are slaughtered, prepared and sold that are generally patterned after those established by the state board of health for temporary food service establishments under chapter 246-215 WAC but are tailored to poultry slaughter, preparation, and sale activities.

(1) In addition to the definitions contained in this section, definitions found in chapters 69.07 and 15.130 RCW, chapter 246-215 WAC and Title 21 C.F.R. may apply.

(2) For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:

"Adequate" means that which is needed to accomplish the intended purpose in keeping with good public health practices.

"Agricultural producer" means a person or persons who raise poultry and who slaughter and sell one thousand or fewer whole raw poultry from their farm directly to the ultimate consumer.

"Authorized person" means a person or persons who work with the agricultural producer in the preparation and slaughter of poultry under this chapter.

"Department" means the Washington state department of agriculture (WSDA).

"Director" means the director of the WSDA.

"Potable water" means water that is in compliance with chapter 16-165 WAC and with the Washington state department of health's drinking water quality standards in chapters 246-290 and 246-291 WAC.

"Poultry" means domesticated fowl that is valued for its meat or eggs such as chickens, turkeys, ducks or geese.

"Sanitize" means to adequately treat poultry slaughtering, preparation and sale surfaces by a process that is effective in destroying vegetative cells of microorganisms of public health significance, and in substantially reducing numbers of other undesirable microorganisms, but without adversely affecting the whole raw poultry or its safety for the consumer.

"Special permit" means a permit to slaughter poultry issued under RCW 69.07.103. The permit expires on December 31st and is issued for either one or two years as requested by the permit applicant.

An agricultural producer of poultry who slaughters and prepares one thousand or fewer poultry in a calendar year and sells the poultry as whole raw poultry from their farm to the ultimate consumer, must obtain a special permit before slaughter of the poultry.

(1) An application for a special permit may be obtained by:

Writing to:

Washington State Department of Agriculture

Food Safety Program

P.O. Box 42560

Olympia, WA 98504-2560; or

Calling 360-902-1876; or

Faxing to 360-902-2087; or

Accessing website http://agr.wa.gov.

(2) The department must receive the completed special permit application packet along with check or money order for the permit fee at least six weeks prior to the planned slaughter of poultry. In accordance with RCW 69.07.103(4), the fee for the special permit is seventy-five dollars for one year, or one hundred twenty-five dollars for two years.

(3) The special permit application packet must include:

(a) A completed application form;

(b) A diagram of the slaughter/preparation site;

(c) A description of the processing steps or a process flow diagram;

(d) The proposed days or dates of slaughter for the current year;

(e) A description of the rinse water and offal disposal procedures; and

(f) Documentation verifying that the water used at the slaughter/preparation site complies with the requirements in WAC 16-170-155. If the well, spring or other private water supply, the water must have a passing bacterial test conducted within sixty days of submitting the application to the department. A copy of the test results must be attached to the special permit application.

(4) Once WSDA receives the special permit application, the applicant will be contacted to schedule an on-site inspection. The inspection must occur before the special permit can be further processed or issued.

(5) Once received, the special permit must be prominently and conspicuously posted at the slaughter site so customers are able to see it.

(6) Slaughtering, preparing and selling poultry regulated by this chapter is prohibited prior to receipt of the special permit.

A two-year special permit holder must submit to the department the following information at least six weeks prior to slaughtering poultry during the second year of the permit:

(1) The proposed second year days or dates of slaughter; and

(2) If the site utilized a well, spring or other private water supply, a copy of a passing bacterial test conducted within sixty days prior to submitting the second year slaughter dates to the department.

(1) The site diagram must clearly show the location of all poultry slaughter and preparation equipment, contact work surfaces, chilling equipment, equipment washing and sanitizing sinks or tubs, handwashing areas, rinse water and offal collection areas and poultry rearing areas.

(2) All items illustrated on the site diagram under subsection (1) of this section must be clearly labeled.

(1) If there is a significant change in the conditions under which the two-year special permit is issued, you must reapply for a special permit under WAC 16-170-035. Significant change under this section means a substantial change in the information previously submitted to the department under WAC 16-170-035.

(2) If the special permit holder was issued a two-year special permit and must reapply for a permit under this section, the department will apply fifty dollars of the two-year permit fee towards the new permit application fee.

The department must be notified at least one week in advance if slaughter of poultry regulated by this chapter is planned on dates other than those previously reported to the department. The department may be notified by mail, email, fax, or by telephone followed by a written confirmation.

The special permit issued under this chapter provides for the slaughter of a total of one thousand or fewer whole raw poultry to the ultimate consumer. Agricultural producers who slaughter more than one thousand poultry in a calendar year must comply with the requirements of chapter 69.07 RCW.

At a minimum, the poultry slaughter/preparation site must:

(1) Be constructed or assembled to minimize insects, pests, birds, dust, mud and overhead contamination;

(2) Include adequate lighting to illuminate the areas where poultry are slaughtered, prepared and sold;

(3) Have an adequate handwashing station;

(4) Be readily accessible to a toilet facility;

(5) Include potable running water;

(6) Include a means of safely disposing of rinse water and offal; and

(7) Means of properly cooling slaughtered poultry unless the customer takes possession within four hours.

All equipment used to slaughter, prepare and sell poultry must be readily cleanable and in good repair.

If the mobile processing unit (MPU) is a self-contained processing unit that meets all of the conditions designed for the sanitary processing of poultry under this chapter, a MPU may be used.

(1) Only authorized persons may be present in the poultry slaughter site while the slaughter-preparation process is taking place. Unauthorized persons must be kept out of the site.

(2) 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 the poultry slaughter site.

(3) Authorized persons are prohibited from smoking, eating or drinking while in the poultry slaughter site.

Anyone slaughtering, preparing and selling poultry covered by this chapter must:

(1) Wear clean and adequate clothing.

"Clean and adequate" means that the clothing must be:

(a) Clean at the start of the slaughter-preparation-sale process; and

(b) Changed when the clothing becomes soiled when contamination of the raw whole poultry, any process work surface, the equipment used to chill slaughtered poultry or the bags used to transport poultry that are sold becomes imminent; and

(c) Suitable to the specific part of the process (slaughter, preparation or sale).

(2) 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 must be worn.

(3) Maintain gloves, if they are used in processing, in an intact, clean, and sanitary condition. The gloves should be of an impermeable material.

(4) Clean and effective hair restraints, such as hairnets or beard nets are not required, but hats, caps, scarves or other head covers are recommended to prevent contamination of the whole raw poultry being slaughtered, prepared and sold.

All personal garments and belongings must be stored separately and apart from the poultry slaughter site to ensure that they do not become a source of contamination to the raw whole poultry, slaughter and preparation work surfaces and equipment, and the bags used to transport poultry that are sold.

(1) Commercially purchased detergents, sanitizers and other materials related to the process may be stored in the poultry slaughter site if they are properly labeled with:

(a) Product name;

(b) Chemical description;

(c) Directions for use;

(d) Any required precautionary and warning statements;

(e) First-aid instructions;

(f) Name and address of the manufacturer or distributor; and

(g) Any other information required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or other laws or rules.

(2) Small "transport" or "use" containers containing detergents, sanitizers or other materials may be stored in the slaughter site but only under the following conditions:

(a) 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.

(b) Food containers must not be used as containers for detergents, sanitizers or toxic materials.

(c) Containers used for detergents, sanitizers or other materials must not be used as food containers.

(1) Anyone involved in the poultry slaughter process must adequately wash their hands:

(a) Before the poultry slaughtering process begins;

(b) Between the slaughtering and preparation steps in the process;

(c) Between the poultry preparation and sale steps in the process;

(d) After each absence from the poultry slaughter site; and

(e) Any time hands become contaminated.

(2) "Adequately washing hands" means thoroughly washing hands to prevent contaminating the slaughtered poultry. Adequate handwashing methods consist of:

(a) Applying soap to hands;

(b) Using warm water;

(c) Scrubbing your hands thoroughly; and

(d) Using methods to rinse and dry hands that prevent contamination.

(1) Anyone involved in the poultry slaughter process must have access to at least one handwashing station equipped with warm running water, hand soap, and paper towels.

(2) Handwashing stations must be conveniently located in the poultry slaughter site and near toilet facilities.

(3) If handwashing stations are not conveniently located in the poultry slaughter site and near toilet facilities, five-gallon insulated containers with continuous flow spigots filled with warm water between one hundred and one hundred and twenty degrees Fahrenheit with pump type liquid soap, paper towels and five-gallon buckets to catch rinse water are required on-site and near the toilet facilities.

(1) "Hand dips" or "hand sanitizing stations" are recommended but not required in the poultry slaughter site. Sanitizing hands using hand dips or hand sanitizing stations is not a substitute for adequate handwashing methods. However, if hand dips are used, they must be properly positioned and maintained.

(2) "Properly maintained" means sanitizing solutions are:

(a) Checked and recharged to a strength equal to 100 PPM chlorine or 25 PPM iodine; and

(b) Changed every four hours while in use.

(1) At least one toilet must be available and conveniently located at the poultry slaughter site.

(2) A domestic toilet is sufficient if the poultry slaughter operation is a family operation where only family members are employed. However, if the operation has employees, toilet facilities must be provided at the slaughtering site or employees must be allowed to use the domestic toilet.

(3) Portable chemical toilets may be used at the poultry slaughter site if they are conveniently located with a self-closing door, screened to exclude insects, and properly maintained.

(4) All nondomestic toilet areas must be kept clean, free of trash and litter, and in good repair. All doors used to enter the nondomestic toilet area must be self-closing and must not open directly into the poultry slaughter site.

The poultry slaughter site must be designed and maintained to ensure that the:

(1) Offal and rinse water the site generates are readily and safely removed; and

(2) Offal and rinse water do not create an unsanitary condition or contaminate:

(a) The raw whole poultry;

(b) Any potable water stored and used at the slaughter site;

(c) Any product contact surfaces at the slaughter site; or

(d) Any bags used to package raw whole poultry sold to the ultimate consumers.

(3) The rinse water disposal system must not allow any backflow from or cross connection between the piping that discharges rinse water and the piping that carries potable water to the poultry slaughter area.

(1) All of the poultry slaughter equipment and utensils must be stored so they will not become contaminated between uses.

(2) All utensils used to slaughter and prepare poultry, such as knives, scrapers, scoops, shovels, cutters, and other hand tools and equipment, must be placed or stored to prevent contact surfaces from being contaminated.

(3) Contaminated equipment and utensils must be cleaned and sanitized before they are used again.

(1) All contact surfaces of equipment, utensils, containers and other articles used in the slaughter and preparation of poultry, must be kept free of any residue or contaminant that could contaminate or adulterate (as defined in RCW 15.130.200), the raw whole poultry carcass.

(2) Residues and contaminants must frequently be removed from all slaughter and preparation contact surfaces to prevent the residues from becoming:

(a) Unwholesome or unfit for the raw whole poultry carcass;

(b) Decomposed, filthy, or putrid; or

(c) Injurious to public health.

(3) All poultry slaughter and preparation contact surfaces must be sanitized:

(a) Before they are used; and

(b) After they are cleaned.

(4) A separate bucket of sanitizer must be kept in the poultry slaughter site for rinsing/storing the wipe down cloths used to sanitize all slaughter equipment and slaughter/preparation contact surfaces. The sanitizing solution in the bucket should be at a minimum 100 ppm (mg/L) for chlorine solution or 50 ppm (mg/L) for iodine solution.

(5) Any noncarcass contact surfaces of equipment used in the slaughter of poultry must be kept reasonably free of dirt, old slaughter/preparation residues, foreign material, dust, mold, mildew, slime and other accumulations that occur as a result of the slaughter/preparation operation.

(1) Any water used in the slaughter, preparation or sale of your poultry must be of a safe and sanitary quality, which means the water supply is potable from an approved source and is monitored according to applicable laws and rules.

(2) Processors that operate from single-family residences on private water supplies need only meet bacteriological testing requirements. Optionally, potable water may be hauled onto the poultry slaughter site for use by the processor as long as the transport vehicle and water are of safe and sanitary quality.

(3) Water used from a private water system for the slaughter, preparation or sale of poultry must be sampled and tested at least annually. Copies of water test reports must be on file at the farm and available for review by WSDA during routine slaughter site inspections.

(4) Any ice manufactured on the farm for use in the poultry slaughter process must be manufactured from potable water.

(5) All ice used at the poultry slaughter site that is not manufactured on the farm must be from an approved source.

(6) All ice used at the poultry slaughter site must be properly handled and stored to protect against contamination.

(1) All bags used to package the slaughtered whole poultry must be new, of food grade quality and properly handled and stored, which means they must be protected from potential sources of contamination when they are handled and stored.

(2) Methods of properly handling and storing bags at the poultry slaughter site include, but are not limited to:

(a) All bags must be stored off of the floor or any other unsanitary surfaces.

(b) All bags must be stored in closed boxes or cartons before they are used.

(c) Bags must be removed from the closed box or carton in a way that prevents contamination.

(d) When a slaughtered whole poultry is inserted into a bag, the bag must be handled so it and the poultry is not exposed to contamination by dust, foreign material or other contaminants.

(e) Any bag dropped on the floor or some other unsanitary surface must not be used.

(1) All slaughtered poultry must be chilled to a temperature at or below forty-five degrees Fahrenheit within four hours of slaughter unless the customer takes possession of the slaughtered poultry during this time.

(2) Chilling poultry may be accomplished through the use of mechanical refrigeration, an ice chest using ice from an approved source (see WAC 16-170-155), or by being immersed in cold running water.

(3) A temperature control (TC) must be used to monitor slaughter cool down temperature by inserting a calibrated thermometer into the thickest portion of the first slaughtered poultry carcass and monitoring the temperature to ensure proper chilling at or below forty-five degrees Fahrenheit within four hours of slaughter.

(4)(a) Slaughtered poultry can be stored for up to forty-eight hours before they are sold.

(b) During their storage period, poultry carcass temperatures must be kept at or less than forty-five degrees Fahrenheit by mechanical refrigeration equipped with a thermometer or by maintaining the carcasses in a properly designed storage container with the use of a temperature control (TC) as outlined in subsection (3) of this section.

(5) All chilled and/or stored poultry carcasses must be protected from physical, chemical, microbial contamination and deterioration.

(1) At a minimum, the following records must be kept at the special permit holder's farm:

(a) A record of the poultry slaughter dates;

(b) The number of poultry by species slaughtered on each slaughter date and the cumulative total of poultry by species slaughtered;

(c) The temperature control log monitoring proper poultry slaughter cool down and storage; and

(d) The water testing records if required by WAC 16-170-155.

(2) All records required under subsection (1) of this section must be:

(a) Maintained so that the information they intend to convey is clear and understandable.

(b) Available at the farm and available to department inspectors upon request.

(c) Retained at the farm for six months after the expiration of the special permit.