Page:Foods and their adulteration; origin, manufacture, and composition of food products; description of common adulterations, food standards, and national food laws and regulations (IA foodstheiradulte02wile).pdf/583

 under the law that the establishments in which the animals are slaughtered, or the meats and meat food products are prepared, cured, packed, stored, or handled, shall be suitably lighted and ventilated and maintained in a sanitary condition. All work in such establishments shall be performed in a cleanly and sanitary manner.

(a) Ceilings, side walls, pillars, partitions, etc., shall be frequently whitewashed or painted, or, where this is impracticable, they shall, when necessary, be washed, scraped, or otherwise rendered sanitary. Where floors or other parts of a building, or tables or other parts of the equipment, are so old or in such condition that they cannot be readily made sanitary, they shall be removed and replaced by suitable materials or otherwise put in a condition acceptable to the inspector in charge. All floors upon which meats are piled during the process of curing shall be so constructed that they can be kept in a clean and sanitary condition, and such meats shall also be kept clean.

(b) All trucks, trays, and other receptacles, all chutes, platforms, racks, tables, etc., and all knives, saws, cleavers, and other tools, and all utensils and machinery used in moving, handling, cutting, chopping, mixing, canning, or other process, shall be thoroughly cleansed daily, if used.

(c) The aprons, smocks, or other outer clothing of employees who handle meat in contact with such clothing shall be of a material that is readily cleansed and made sanitary and shall be cleansed daily, if used. Employees who handle meats or meat food products shall be required to keep their hands clean.

(d) All toilet rooms, urinals, and dressing rooms shall be entirely separated from compartments in which carcasses are dressed or meats or meat food products are cured, stored, packed, handled, or prepared. They shall be sufficient in number, ample in size, and fitted with modern lavatory accommodations, including toilet paper, soap, running water, towels, etc. They shall be properly lighted, suitably ventilated, and kept in a sanitary condition. Managers of establishments must see that employees keep themselves clean.

(e) The rooms or compartments in which meats or meat food products are prepared, cured, stored, packed, or otherwise handled shall be lighted and ventilated in a manner acceptable to the inspector in charge and shall be so located that odors from toilet rooms, catch-basins, casing departments, tank rooms, hide cellars, etc., do not permeate them. All rooms or compartments shall be provided with cuspidors, which employees who expectorate shall be required to use.

(f) Persons affected with tuberculosis or any other communicable disease shall not be knowingly employed in any of the departments of establishments where carcasses are dressed, meats handled, or meat food products prepared, and any employee suspected of being so affected shall be so reported by the inspector in charge to the manager of the establishment and to the Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry.

(g) The fattening of hogs or other animals on the refuse of slaughterhouses will not be permitted on the premises of an establishment where inspection is maintained, and no use incompatible with proper sanitation shall be made of any part of the premises on which such establishment is located. All yards, fences, pens, chutes, alleys, etc., belonging to the premises of such establishment shall, whether they are used or not, be maintained in a sanitary condition.

(h) Butchers who dress diseased carcasses shall cleanse their hands of all grease and then immerse them in a prescribed disinfectant and rinse them in clear water before engaging again in dressing or handling healthy carcasses. All butchers' implements used in dressing diseased carcasses shall be cleansed of all grease and then sterilized, either in boiling water or by immersion in a prescribed disinfectant, and rinsed in clear water before being again used in dressing healthy carcasses.