Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
(a)
Definitions. For the purposes of this section:
(1) A product is that a cured pork article
that is contained within one Group as defined in subsection (a)(2) of this
section and that purports to meet the criteria for a single product designated
under the heading "Product Name and Qualifying Statements" in the charts in
9 CFR sections
319.104 or
319.105 (2006).
(2) A Product Group or a Group means one of
the following:
(A) Group I, consisting of
cured pork products that have been cooked while imperviously encased. Any
product that fits into the Group will be placed in this Group regardless of any
other considerations.
(B) Group II,
consisting of cured pork products that have been water cooked. Any product that
does not fit into Group I but does fit into Group II will be placed into Group
II regardless of any other considerations.
(C) Group III, consisting of boneless
smokehouse heated cured pork products. Any boneless product that does not fit
into Group I or Group II shall be placed in Group III.
(D) Group IV, consisting of bone-in or
semi-boneless smokehouse heated cured pork products. Any product that is not
completely boneless or still contains all the bone that is traditional for
bone-in product, and does not fit into Group I, Group II, or Group III shall be
placed in this Group.
(3)
A lot is that product from one production shift.
(4) A production rate is frequency of
production, expressed in days per week.
(5) Protein fat free percentage, protein fat
free content, PFF percentage, PFF content or PFF of a product means the meat
protein (indigenous to the raw, unprocessed pork cut) content expressed as a
percent of the non-fat portion of the finished product.
(b) Normal Compliance Procedures. The
Department may collect samples of cured pork products and analyze them for
their PFF content. Analyses shall be conducted by the Department's Center for
Analytic Chemistry Laboratory or another laboratory approved by the
Department.
(c) Each analytical
result shall be recorded and evaluated to determine if the affected lot and
subsequent production of like product shall be California Retained as provided
in subsection (e) of this section.
(d) Rules for Rounding:
(1) Laboratory results for percent meat
protein and fat will be reported to the second decimal place
(hundredths).
(2) PFF for charting
purposes will be calculated from the reported laboratory results to the second
decimal place. Rounding of calculations to reach two decimal places will be
done by the following rule:
(3) All
values of five-thousandths (0.005) or more will be rounded up to the next
highest hundredth. All values of less than five-thousandths (0.005) will be
dropped.
(4) For compliance with
the Absolute Minimum PFF requirements, the PFF will be rounded to the first
decimal place (tenths). Rounding of calculations to reach one decimal place
will be done by the following rule: All PFF values of five-hundredths (0.05) or
more will be rounded up to the next highest tenth. All PFF values of less than
five-hundredths (0.05) will be dropped.
(5) For product disposition (pass-fail of a
minimum PFF standard for retained product) the average PFF calculation will be
rounded to the first decimal place. Individual PFF Values will be calculated to
the nearest hundredth as in (B) above. The average, however, will be rounded to
the nearest tenth as in (C) above.
(e) Criteria for California retention of
cured pork products for further analysis.
(1)
When an analysis of an individual sample indicates a PFF content below the
applicable minimum requirement of
9 CFR section
319.104 or section
319.105 (2006) by 2.3 or more
percentage points for a Group I or II product, or 2.7 or more percentage points
for a Group III or IV product, the lot from which the sample was collected
shall be California Retained.
(2)
Any subsequently produced lots of like product and any lots of like product for
which production dates cannot be established shall be California
Retained.
(3) Disposition of such
California Retained product shall be in accordance with subsections (f) and (g)
of this section.
(f)
Compliance procedure during product retention.
(1) When a product lot is California Retained
under the provisions of subsections (e)(1) and (2) of this section, the
Department shall collect three randomly selected samples from each such lot and
analyze them individually for PFF content. The PFF content of the three samples
shall be evaluated to determine disposition of the lot as provided in
subsection (e)(1) of this section and the action to be taken on subsequently
produced lots of like product as provided in subsection (e)(2) of this
section.
(2) If the processor does
not wish to have the product evaluated in this manner, alternate sampling plans
may be used provided such plans have been formulated by the processor and
approved by the Department prior to evaluation by the three-sample criteria,
and provided the analyses specified in such plans are performed at the expense
of the processor.
(A) A product lot that is
California Retained under the provisions of subsection (e)(1) of this section
may be released for entry into commerce provided one of the following
conditions is met:
1. The average PFF content
of the three samples randomly selected from the lot is equal to or greater than
the applicable minimum PFF percentage required by
9 CFR section
319.104 or section
319.105 (2006). Further processing
to remove moisture for the purpose of meeting this provision is permissible. In
lieu of further analysis to determine the effects of such processing, each 0.37
percent weight reduction due to moisture loss resulting from the processing may
be considered the equivalent of a 0.1 percent PFF gain.
2. The lot of the product is relabeled to
conform to the provisions of 9 CFR section 319.104 or section
319.105 (2006), under the
supervision of an inspector.
3. The
lot is one that has been prepared subsequent to preparation of the lot that,
under the provisions of subsection (e)(2) of this section, resulted in
discontinuance of California retention of new lots of like product. Such lot
may be released for entry into commerce prior to receipt of analytical results
for which sampling has been conducted. Upon receipt of such results, they shall
be subjected to the provisions of subsection (e)(1) of this
section.
(g) Products not meeting specified PFF
requirements, determined according to procedures set forth in this section, may
be deemed adulterated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act,
21 USC section
601(m)(8) and misbranded
under section
601(n).
1. New
section filed 5-31-2007; operative 6-30-2007 (Register 2007, No. 22).
Note: Authority cited: Sections
407,
18693,
18735,
18960,
18961
and
19014,
Food and Agricultural Code. Reference: Sections, 18652, 18662, 18664, 18665,
18666, 18669, 18676, 18721, 18724, 18727, 18730, 18845, 18944, 18947, 18949,
18973, 19014 and 19017, Food and Agricultural Code;
9 CFR sections
319.104 and
319.105 (2006); and Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21
USC section 601.
