In case of discrepancies between the English version and Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail.

Operation Directions for the Implementation and Measurement of the Certification for the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point for Slaughterhouses

Amended on November 10, 2023

Article 1

　The Ministry of Agriculture (hereinafter referred to as the MOA), in order to improve the autonomous cleaning and sanitation management measures of the slaughterhouse, establishes these directions to carry out the certification operation of hazard analysis and critical control point in slaughterhouses, in accordance with the Subparagraph 2, Paragraph 1, Article 2 of the Regulations for Slaughter Operations.

Article 2

　With regard to “Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point for Slaughterhouses” (hereinafter referred to as the system) referred to in these directions, the objectives are to identify, evaluate, and manage the meat hygiene and safety hazards in the procedures of slaughter operation; and to use the principles of hazards analysis and critical control point (hereinafter referred to as HACCP) to manage and control the acceptance and slaughtering of livestock and poultry and the system of management of carcasses, meat cuts, viscera, and blood.

Article 3

Scope of certification

1. The scope of the system must be the same as that of the registered slaughterhouse. The application for HACCP is voluntary.

2. The slaughterhouses applying for certification of the system must comply with the Animal Industry Act, the Establishment Standards for Slaughterhouse, and the Regulations for Slaughter Operation. In addition, its scope must include animals’ reception, slaughtering, and management of carcasses, meat cuts, viscera, and blood.

Article 4

The system must include the following:

1. Putting together and creating a team of hazards analysis and critical control point for slaughterhouses (hereinafter referred to as the HACCP team).
2. Conducting hazard analysis.
3. Determining the critical control points (hereinafter referred to as CCP).
4. Establishing critical limits.
5. Establishing and implementing monitoring plans.
6. Establishing and implementing corrective actions.
7. Confirming the effectiveness of the system implementation.
8. Establishing documents and records for the system implementation.

Article 5

　The slaughterhouse must prepare the procedure documentation of the system in accordance with the "Guideline for the Implementation of HACCP for Slaughterhouses" and confirm its applicability.

Article 6

The HACCP team:

1. The slaughterhouse must establish a HACCP team to manage matters described from Subparagraphs 2 to 8 of Article 4 and Article 5.
2. The HACCP team must have at least 3 members, who shall be composed of the person in charge of the slaughterhouse or his/her agent, as well as the operator of the slaughter line, cadres, sanitation control personnel or other cadres. For slaughterhouses with more than three slaughter lines, one additional member of the HACCP team must be added for each additional line.
3. The members of the HACCP team must have attended and completed at least 18 hours of slaughter sanitation or related courses recognized by the MOA and have the relevant certificates of passing the courses. Members of the HACCP team must continue to take slaughter sanitation or related professional courses recognized by the MOA, and have accumulated at least 12 hours every three years, during the period of implementing HACCP.
4. The HACCP team must be based on the description of the products of the slaughterhouse (carcasses, meat cuts, viscera, and blood), the intended use, and the steps of the slaughter flow chart, in order to confirm the on-site operation and list all possible hazards (biological, chemical, and physical).  Subsequently, they must conduct a hazard analysis, identifying factors that could affect meat safety, their frequency and severity, and establish preventive, removing and reductive measures for hazardous factors.
5. The HACCP team must develop corrective actions for each CCP case when deviations occur. Such actions must include at least one the following:
   1. Correction of the cause of deviation.
   2. If the deviation of production of edible products as carcasses, meat cuts, viscera, and blood in the slaughterhouse violate relevant laws and regulations or are likely to be harmful to human health, such products must be properly disposed of.
6. When necessary, the HACCP team must respond to the deviation in the preceding subparagraph (Subparagraph 4) by conducting a hazard analysis again.
7. The HACCP team must conduct an internal audit at least once a year to confirm the effectiveness of the system implementation.
8. The HACCP team must carry out internal training for the system implementing personnel in the slaughterhouse at least once a year. The total hours must not lower than three. The training must include the relevant content from the Sanitation Standard Operation Procedure under the Animal Industry Act and this system.

　The HACCP team must keep a set of written records of the implementation of Subparagraph 5 to Subparagraph 8 of the preceding paragraph, together with relevant documents, compile them into files, and keep them for at least five years. The written record must be signed by the person in charge or his/her agent, and the date must be marked.

Article 7

Regarding HACCP certification application procedures:

1. The Applicant must fill in the application documents, “Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures for Slaughterhouses” (hereinafter referred as Procedure) and "Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Plan for Slaughterhouses” (hereinafter referred as Plan) in accordance with the "HACCP Implementation Guide for Slaughterhouses", and submit an application to the MOA.
2. For the document review process:
   1. The application in the preceding paragraph shall be first reviewed by the MOA. If result of the document review meets the requirements, MOA will arrange an on-site inspection.
   2. If the result of the document review needs to be supplemented or corrected, the MOA shall inform the Applicant to complete the supplements or corrections within two months. For those who fail to complete the supplements or corrections within two months, the Applicant may send a letter requesting the MOA for an one month extension; the number of the request is limited to two times, and if the corrections are not completed within the deadline, the MOA will reject the application.
3. For the on-site inspection:
   1. For those who have been informed by the MOA for on-site inspection, they must cooperate in carrying out slaughter operations and accepting inspections.
   2. For the Applicant who fails to comply with on-site inspections, the MOA may reject its application.
   3. The duration of the on-site inspection is usually completed within a day. The MOA may extend the duration for over one day when necessary.
   4. The person in charge of the slaughterhouse or one appointed by him/her and the members of the HACCP team must be present during the on-site inspection and to comply with the inspection process and to explain the implementation of the system.
   5. After complete the on-site inspection, the MOA will inform the Applicant the outcome of the on-site inspection in written form.
   6. If the Applicant fails to pass the on-site inspection, the MOA will inform the Applicant to make a correction. The Applicant must apply for re-inspection after the correction. Two re-inspections are generally allowed within a period of 3 months. If the Applicant fails to apply for re-inspection or complete the correction within 3 months, the MOA may reject the application. If there are special extenuating circumstances that the Applicant can provide proof of, the MOA may add the times of correction, the times of re-inspection, or extend the length of corrections.
4. For the final review process: To confirm the results of on-site inspection or the corrections of re-inspection in the preceding paragraph, a HACCP certificate shall be issued to those who meet the requirements.

Article 8

　The document review, on-site inspection and final review process in preceding article shall be handled by the MOA convening academic experts, government institution representatives, and relevant personnel from various professional fields to hold a certification review committee (hereinafter referred to as the committee).

Article 9

The HACCP certificate:

1. For a slaughterhouse approved by the document review, on-site inspection and final review, the MOA will issue HACCP certificates in both Chinese and English version.
2. The HACCP certificate must include the following:
   1. The registration number of the slaughterhouse.
   2. The name of the slaughterhouse.
   3. The address of the slaughterhouse.
   4. The name of the person in charge of the slaughterhouse.
   5. The HACCP certificate number.
   6. The validity period.
   7. The issuance date.
3. The validity period of the HACCP certificate is 3 years, starting from the date issued by the MOA. Once the 3 year period has passed, the HACCP certificate becomes invalid.
4. Within three months to six months before the validity of the certificate in the preceding paragraph expires, the applicant may re-apply for the HACCP certificate to the MOA. The validity period of the newly issued HACCP certificate shall be three years from the day after the expiration of the original HACCP certificate. For those who fail to re-apply for the HACCP certificate within the time limit, the validity period of the newly issued HACCP certificate shall be three years from the date of issuance of the HACCP certificate.
5. When a HACCP certificate needs to be renewed or reissued because of loss, damage, or change in the contents of the HACCP certificate, the validity period will be the same as the original HACCP certificate, and the issuance date is the actual renewal and reissuance date.

Article 10

Follow-up inspections:

1. For slaughterhouses that have obtained the HACCP certificate, the MOA must carry out at least once regular (or from time to time) follow-up inspection every year to confirm that the slaughterhouse complies with the “Establishment Standards for Slaughterhouse” and the “Regulations for Slaughter Operations”, and to confirm that the system is actually implemented as stated. The MOA may increase the frequency of follow-up inspections when necessary.
2. If the slaughterhouse fails to comply with the provisions of the preceding subparagraph after the follow-up inspection, it must complete the improvement in accordance with the requirements of the MOA. For violations of the “Establishment Standards for Slaughterhouse” or “Regulations for Slaughter Operation”, the MOA will fine and penalize the violator in accordance with the law thereof.

Article 11

　When the name of the slaughterhouse, the name of the person in charge, and the address are changed (due to house number reorganization or administrative area adjustment), the slaughterhouse shall, within 15 days after completing the registration of the change of slaughterhouse in accordance with Paragraph 2 of Article 24 of the Enforcement Rules of the Animal Industry Law, apply to the MOA for changes and renewal of HACCP certificates.

　When necessary, the MOA may inform the slaughterhouse to conduct a follow-up inspection of the changes in the preceding paragraph.

Article 12

　In addition to the content changes of the HACCP certificate specified in the provisions of the Article 11, which must be followed in accordance with the regulations, if any of the following circumstances, the slaughterhouse must attach the original HACCP certificate and re-apply for a new HACCP certificate in accordance with the provisions of the Article 7:

1. The entire site is changed by adding slaughter lines or rebuilding on the original site.
2. There are changes in the slaughter operation procedures, facilities and equipment, etc. However, if the changes does not affect the effectiveness of the implementation of the system, there is no need to re-apply for a HACCP certificate. The slaughterhouse must notify the MOA with the updated version of the procedure and plan for reference.
3. There are changes in the HACCP certificate content other than those in the preceding two subparagraphs that can affect the effectiveness of the implementation of the system.

Article 13

Revocation or abolishment of the HACCP certificate:

1. If any of the following circumstances occur, the MOA may revoke, abolish, and request the return of the HACCP certificate:
   1. The provided documents are false or untrue.
   2. Avoidance, obstruction, or refusal to the follow-up inspections.
   3. Serious violation of Establishment Standards for Slaughterhouse or Regulations for Slaughter Operation, etc., or unauthorized changes on slaughtering operation process, facilities, or equipment without permission of the MOA, having been determined by the certification review committee.
   4. Follow-up inspection finds that the system has not been implemented in the slaughterhouse and the slaughterhouse fails to implement improvement by the deadline, and the certification review committee has determined that the violations are serious in nature.
   5. A position in the HACCP team has been vacant for more than six consecutive months.
   6. The registration of the slaughterhouse has been revoked or abolished by the competent authority, and the registration certificate has been cancelled.
   7. Violation of articles in this direction or other matters and violations that the MOA deems to be serious in nature.
2. When the cause of the revocation or abolishment of the HACCP certificate has ceased to exist, the slaughterhouse may re-apply for HACCP certificate in accordance with Article 7.

Article 14

  In order to make consumers aware of the slaughterhouse certification information, the MOA must publish the information on its official website which includes relevant information on the HACCP certificate from slaughterhouses, the follow-up inspections, and revoking or abolishing of the HACCP certificate.