ASEAN GOOD MANUFACTURING

PRACTICES FOR
SLAUGHTERHOUSES AND MEAT
CUTTING PLANT
Prepared by Ngan Sonleda
08 Apr 2023
GMP Requirements

I. Location
II. Requirements on Facilities, Buildings and Equipment
III. Handling Live Animals
IV. Animal Slaughter
V. Human Resources/Technical Competency
VI. Hygiene and Sanitation
VII.Personal Hygiene
VIII.Regulation by authorities and internal controls
IX. Traceability
I. Location

• Not situated in areas that are prone to flood, landslides, and the premises
is protected against contamination such as smoke, smells, and dusts
• Does not cause disturbances and environmental pollution
• Has its own access to sufficient clean water for slaughter, cleaning and
disinfection activities
• Good road access to the slaughterhouses
• Sufficient and sustainable supply of electricity
• Access to waste disposal
• Has sufficient land according to the scale or capacity of slaughter.
II. Requirements on Facilities, Buildings and Equipment

2.1. Slaughterhouses
2.1.1. Required Facilities
• Availability of solid and liquid waste management
• Availability of carcass/meat transporting vehicles
• Slaughterhouse complex must be fenced with access control to prevent
unauthorized people and other animals to come in and out of the
complex
• Slaughterhouse complex should have separate entry points/lanes for
the entry of live animals with the exit of carcass/meat/offal. Otherwise,
disinfection facilities (e.g., wheel dips) to be provided.
II. Requirements on Facilities, Buildings and Equipment
(con’t)
2.1.2. Building requirements
Building and layouts:
- Main building must have separate assigned places for dirty and clean areas with different entry of personnel, where
process flow is design from dirty area to clean area
- Layouts are designed in such a way to meet the needs of the process flow and to allow sufficient space to ensure all
slaughter activities to proceed well and in a hygienic way.
- Must have areas and facilities assigned to perform ante-mortem and post-mortem inspections, including condemned
parts facilities
- Adequate natural or artificial lighting should be provided throughout the establishment.
- The lighting should not alter colors and the intensity should not be less than: 540 lux (50 foot candles) at all
inspection points, 220 lux (20 foot candles) in work rooms, and 110 lux (10 foot candles) in other areas.
- Lighting fixtures should, where appropriate, be protected to ensure that carcass and meat are not contaminated by
breakages and easy to clean
- Inner walls are light coloured, must be flat and made of waterproof materials, not easily corrosive, non-toxic, not easy
to peel, resistant to hard collisions, easy to clean and disinfect
II. Requirements on Facilities, Buildings and Equipment
(con’t)
 Building and layouts (con’t)
- Floor is made of waterproof materials, non-corrosive, non-slippery, non-toxic, slopes
towards drain, easy to clean and disinfect
- Floor surface must not be bumpy with no gaps nor holes
- Meeting points between walls and floors are curved
- Ceilings are designed to prevent accumulation of dirt, mould formation and in-room
condensation, light-coloured, not easily peeled off, strong/durable, easy to clean, not leaking
- Building construction must be designed to prevent pests and wild animals, including
mice/rats/rodents, insects, birds and other animals to enter and nest inside the building
- Provided with proper and sufficient ventilation system for good inbuilding air circulation,
where proper, suitable equipment should be in place
- Windows, doors and door frames must be made from materials that are non-corrosive, water
proof, hard-impact resistant, easy to clean and disinfect
II. Requirements on Facilities, Buildings and Equipment
(con’t)
Animal unloading area and shelter/animal resting cages
- Animal unloading area must be equipped with facilities to unload the animals from the
transporting vehicles designed according to animal welfare aspect
- Floor height must be appropriate for the height of the transport vehicles’ boxes, such that
animals do not have difficulties getting off the transport vehicles
- Floor is made from materials that are durable, water proof, nonslippery and sloped towards the
drains and easy to clean and disinfect
- drains are designed in such a way so that the waste can flow easily
- Animal unloading and resting areas including resting cages should be adequately ventilated to
ensure that waste gases (e.g., ammonia) do not build up. Humidity level should be appropriate
so that the animal physiological condition is not compromised.
- shelter/animal resting cages is designed to enable the ante-mortem inspection process
undertaken.
II. Requirements on Facilities, Buildings and Equipment
(con’t)
Aging room
- the size of the aging room is adjusted to the number of carcasses
produced
- room is designed in such a way so that there is no water or liquid
wastes from other rooms to enter into the aging room;
- room is equipped with carcass hangers designed so that carcasses do
not touch the floor or walls
- room is equipped with thermometer or temperature recorder that is
easy to monitor
II. Requirements on Facilities, Buildings and Equipment
(con’t)
Carcass/meat loading area;
- Floor height must be adjusted to the height of the carcass/meat transport vehicles’ boxes
- Is equipped with hand-wash basin facility
Carcass and/or animal by-products’ disposal facility:
- Carcass and/or animal by-products’ disposal facility shall be isolated and kept in
separated area to prevent cross-contamination or alternative methods to prevent cross-
contamination should be in place
- is able to dispose of carcasses and/or other animal by-products effectively without
causing public health and environmental pollution’s hazards
- designed to be easily monitored and easily maintained as well as meeting the public
health and environmental requirements
II. Requirements on Facilities, Buildings and Equipment
(con’t)
Waste management system
- has designated area for waste disposal
- has capacity according to the waste volume and type of waste
produced, e.g., solid waste and effluent
- designed to be easily monitored, maintained, not producing smells and
meeting the public health and environmental requirements
II. Requirements on Facilities, Buildings and Equipment
(con’t)
Slaughterhouse complex producing fresh and chilled and frozen
carcasses/meat as the final products must be equipped with:
- deboning room and cutting room (with temperature maintained between 12 –
15°C)
- the size of rooms is adjusted to the number of carcasses produced with design
and construction that ease the cleaning and disinfection processes
- Adequate natural or artificial lighting should be provided throughout the
establishment. Where appropriate, the lighting should not alter colours and the
intensity should not be less than: 220 lux (20 foot candles) in work rooms
- doors are equipped with plastic curtains or other practices to prevent the
temperature variations
II. Requirements on Facilities, Buildings and Equipment
(con’t)
Freezing facility (such as Air Blast Freezer, Individual Quick Freezer)
- is equipped with freezer to keep the internal carcass/meat temperature when it
reaches –18°C (length of freezing process is adjusted to the types of animals
- is equipped with thermometer or other temperature recorders that are easily
monitored
Chiller/Refrigerator
- is equipped with chiller that can reach to and maintain the internal
carcass/meat temperature up to maximum of 4 C (chilled meat)
- is equipped with thermometer or other temperature recorders that are easily
monitored.
II. Requirements on Facilities, Buildings and Equipment
(con’t)
Cold Storage
- For frozen carcasses/meats, the storage must be able to reach and
maintain the internal carcass/meat temperature to the maximum of –
18°C (frozen meat)
- is equipped with thermometer or other temperature recorders that are
easily monitored.
II. Requirements on Facilities, Buildings and Equipment
(con’t)
2.2. Meat Cutting Plant
2.2.1. Facilities requireement:
- Facilities directly contact carcass/meat/offal made from materials that are non-toxic, not easy to
break, non-corrosive and durable
- carcass and meat transportation must use refrigerated vehicles or transport containers that can
maintain the food products at the required temperature
- if carcass and meat must be distributed in the chilled form at 4°C or below, the carcass/meat
internal core temperature must not exceed 7 °C
- if carcass and meat must be distributed in the frozen form at -18°C or below, the carcass/meat
internal core temperature must not exceed - 12°C
- carcass and meat transportation must use refrigerated vehicles or transport containers that can
maintain the food products at the required temperature
- road access that is passable by carcass/meat transport vehicles
II. Requirements on Facilities, Buildings and Equipment
(con’t)
2.2.2. Building requirements
Building consists of deboning room and meat-cutting room; cold storage; chiller/refrigerator
room; packing room; carcass/meat loading and unloading rooms (to and from transport
vehicles); waste management facilities.
2.3. Slaughterhouse and Meat Cutting Plant Equipment Requirements:
- all equipment must be made from materials that are not corrosive, easy to clean and disinfect
and easily maintained;
- all equipment and surfaces that are in direct contact with carcass, meat and offal must not be
made from wood and/or other materials that are toxic or easily corrosive, easy to clean and
disinfect, and easily maintained
- all metal equipment that are in direct contact with the carcass/meat and offal must be made
from materials that are non-corrosive, strong/durable, unpainted, easy to clean and disinfect,
and easily maintained;
II. Requirements on Facilities, Buildings and Equipment
(con’t)
- lubricants used for equipment that are in direct contact with the carcass/meat and
offal must be under food-grade category
- tools to clean and disinfect the room and equipment must be sufficiently provided
so that cleaning and disinfection process can be implemented well and effectively
- every entry point/door into the main building should come with the handwash
facility equipped with hands-free tap, liquid soap, disposable paper towels,
sanitizer as well as foot dip, with the volume of disinfectant adjusted to the
number of staffs working in the premises
- room and equipment’s cleaning and disinfection tools must be sufficiently
available to ensure the whole cleaning and disinfection processes can be
implemented well and effectively
II. Requirements on Facilities, Buildings and Equipment
(con’t)
slaughter area must be at minimum equipped with:
- restraint facilities
- equipment to place the animals after being slaughtered
- carcass hangers designed specifically to prevent carcasses from touching the floor and
walls
- post-mortem examination facilities and equipment
- Poultry slaughterhouse is equipped with scalder and plucker tools, while for ducks,
food-graded wax shall be used.
- Offal room at the minimum is equipped with facilities and equipment to process offal.
- Equipment and implements used for edible and inedible parts of animals should be
properly identified to avoid cross contamination
III. Handling Live Animals

3.1. Animal acceptance

- Delivery of animal for slaughter should be scheduled.
- Animal health document should be made available for checking.
- Animals should be unloaded as soon as they arrive at the slaughterhouse/abattoir.
- If not possible, containers should be unloaded, or vehicles should be placed in lairage or in
sheltered and adequately ventilated area, promptly on arrival
- Unloading of animals is performed carefully and gently by trained officers to minimize the
risks of the animals being stressed out and injured
- Animal unloading facility must be able to prevent animals from being injured, protected
from heat/sunlight and rain
- Animal transporting facilities and infrastructures must be cleaned and disinfected. Animal
waste and bedding must be immediately removed or disposed.
III. Handling Live Animals
3.2. Animal handling in the temporary/shelter/resting cages:
- Animals that just arrived are grouped based on types, size and level of aggressiveness
- Injured animals must be isolated and slaughtered first
- Sick animals must be separated in the isolation cages/pens
- Animals should be handled in such a way as to avoid harm, distress or injury
- Provide sufficient drinking water (ad libitum) except for poultry
- Animals held in containers must be slaughtered as soon as possible. Animals which have not
been slaughtered within 12 hours of their arrival should be fed
- Dead animals must be disposed to prevent them into entering food chain.
- Any animal, upon arrival at the slaughterhouse, may be given sufficient rest before slaughter
- Feed shall be appropriately withdrawn before slaughter
- Ante-mortem inspection is performed by veterinarian or competent person authorized by
veterinary authority at the maximum of 24 hours prior to being slaughtered
III. Animal Slaughter
- Slaughter is performed by stunning. In case of ritual or religious slaughtering, the slaughter
without stunning can be applied.
- stunning can be done before slaughter is performed, using the appropriate methods for the animal
types and must adhere to the animal welfare aspects
- slaughter is performed according to the types of animals based on the legislations applied
- animals may be further handled/processed only after the animal is confirmed completely dead
- for poultry, scalding, plucking and offal removal are performed right after slaughter
- post-mortem inspection is performed by veterinarian or competent person authorized by
veterinary authority against the heads (except poultry), offal and carcasses
- use of food grade marker for markings on carcass
- carcass and meat handling must be performed in a hygienic manner to prevent cross
contamination, such as done in different room, using different tools and equipment, different
containers by different staff indoors with that handling offal;
- Offal must be handled separately from carcasses/meats
7. Human Resources/Technical Competency

- Every slaughterhouse or meat cutting plant must have at the minimum

of one person to serve as the technical person in charge
- For slaughterhouse, the technical person in charge is responsible to the
implementation of Hygiene and Sanitation, Veterinary Public Health,
safety and quality of meat.
- Technical person in charge must be competent (has gone through
certified training) in the field of food safety
8. Hygiene and Sanitation
Implementation of hygiene and sanitation:
- No entry of unauthorized person within slaughterhouse and/or meat cutting plant premises
- Every entrance door to slaughterhouse main building must have the boot washing facility
completed with boots’ brush and facility to disinfect boots (foot dip) or other procedures for boot
cleaning
- Must have hand-washing facilities equipped with hands-free tap, liquid soap, paper
towels/hand dryer and sanitizer adequate for all personnel to ensure hand-washing to proceed
well and in a hygienic way
- Facility to disinfect knives and equipment/tools used, and if hot water facility is used, it should be
operating at a minimum temperature of 82°C or the other appropriate method
- Use clean water which is tested at the minimum of once a year in the accreditation laboratory
- Chemical substance and sanitizer used must be in accordance to the manufacturer’s guidelines,
and in accordance to regulations by the member’s state competent authorities, such that there
should be no harmful substances remaining after they have been properly washed and rinsed
according to the manufacturer’s guidelines
8. Hygiene and Sanitation

- Cleaning and disinfection processes are performed thoroughly every

time slaughter, carcass, meat and offal handling are completed
- Has programs to control insect, rodents and/or other pest animals
- Cleanliness of the area around the main building within the
slaughterhouse and/or meat cutting plant complex must be maintained
periodically by: keeping the cleanliness, free from litters, animal waste
and feed leftovers
- Ensuring vegetation around premises are well-maintained
- Providing temporary trashcans in certain points/areas
9. Personal Hygiene
- Workers handling carcass and meat must be healthy, particularly free from contagious diseases such as
Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, hepatitis A, and/or typhus fever. They are required to get their
health checked at least once a year
- They must wear personal protective equipment (e.g., hair net/head gear, working clothes/uniform, gloves
and suitable footwear) and must not wear accessories
- Workers who handle or have direct contact with animals or working on the slaughter line are encouraged
to wear appropriate masks to protect against diseases that may be transmitted from animals
- They must always wash their hands using liquid soap and/or sanitizer before, during or after handling
products as well as after visiting the toilet
- workers who directly handle products are not to sport open wounds; those who are injured while working
must stop working and treat the wound/injury by bandaging it using waterproof materials and may
continue working afterwards
- they must not do any activity which may contaminate the product (such as eating, drinking, sneezing,
coughing, smoking, spitting) inside the slaughterhouse and/or meat cutting plant main building
- they have participated in hygiene and sanitation training.
10. Regulation by authorities and internal controls

 External control is performed by the government and certification agency:

- Control by the Government is done to ensure that the animal products produced by
the slaughterhouse/meat cutting plant are safe for consumption. Control is done in
the forms of audit, inspection and sample collection for monitoring and
surveillance.
- Control by Certification Agency/Bodies is performed to ensure the conformity and
commitment of the slaughterhouses/meat cutting plant on the quality management
system. Control is performed in the form of audit and surveillance.
 Internal control is performed by the management of the Slaughterhouse/Meat
Cutting Plant, coordinated by the technical person in charge. Control is performed
by auditing against the application of Good Manufacturing Practices and
regulations stated in the Slaughterhouse/Meat Cutting Plant procedures
11. Traceability
Recording:
- Slaughterhouse/meat cutting plant must kept and maintain records at least records related with animal origin,
post-mortem and antemortem inspection, temperature in cold chain room, slaughter date and production date;
- Records needs to be kept and maintain in the slaughterhouse/meat cutting plant;
- Records retention periods is in accordance to the member’s state regulations.
Packaging:
- Packaging must be labelled
- Primary packaging must use materials that are non-toxic, noncorrosive and food grade if using secondary
packaging, the materials used are non-toxic, noncorrosive and not easy to break.
Label:
- Label that directly contact with carcass/meat/offal must use materials non-toxic, non-corrosive and food grade
- Label at least contains information related with slaughterhouse/meat cutting plant origin (establishment number),
production date, expired/best before date
- Label is clear and easy to read
- If carcass/meat/offal intended for export, label must also written in English and/or other language according to the
importing country regulation and/or costumer requirements.