(a) Carcasses, parts thereof, meat and meat food products (other than rendered animal fats) that have been treated in accordance with the provisions of this section shall be considered denatured for the purposes of the regulations in this part, except as otherwise provided in part 314 of this subchapter for articles condemned at official establishments or at official import inspection establishments.
(1) The following agents are prescribed for denaturing carcasses, parts thereof, meat or meat food products which are affected with any condition that would result in their condemnation and disposal under part 314 of this subchapter if they were at an official establishment or at an official import inspection establishment: Crude carbolic acid; cresylic disinfectant; a formula consisting of 1 part FD&C green No. 3 coloring, 40 parts water, 40 parts liquid detergent, and 40 parts oil of citronella, or other proprietary substance approved by the Administrator in specific cases.
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1 Information as to approval of any proprietary denaturing substance may be obtained from the Meat and Poultry Inspection Technical Services, Food Safety and Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250.
(2) Meat may be denatured by dipping it in a solution of 0.0625 percent tannic acid, followed by immersion in a water bath, then dipping it in a solution of 0.0625 percent ferric acid; and except as provided in paragraphs (a) (3) and (5) of this section, the following agents are prescribed for denaturing other carcasses, parts thereof, meat and meat food products, for which denaturing is required by this part: FD&C green No. 3 coloring; FD&C blue No. 1 coloring; FD&C blue No. 2 coloring; finely powdered charcoal; or other proprietary substance approved by the Administrator in specific cases.
1 Carcasses (other than viscera), parts thereof, cuts of meat, and unground pieces of meat darkened by charcoal or other black dyes shall be deemed to be denatured pursuant to this section only if they contain at least that degree of darkness depicted by diagram 1 of the Meat Denaturing Guide (MP Form 91).
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2 Copies of MP Form 91 may be obtained, without charge, by writing to the Administrative Operations Branch, Food Safety and Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 123 East Grant Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55403. Diagrams 2 and 3 of the Meat Denaturing Guide are for comparison purposes only. The Meat Denaturing Guide has been approved for incorporation by reference by the Director, Office of the Federal Register, and is on file at the Federal Register Library.
(3) Tripe may be denatured by dipping it in a 6 percent solution of tannic acid for 1 minute followed by immersion in a water bath, then immersing it for 1 minute in a solution of 0.022 percent FD&C yellow No. 5 coloring.
(4) When meat, meat byproducts, or meat food products are in ground form, 4 percent by weight of coarsely ground hard done, which shall be in pieces no smaller than the opening size specified for No. 5 mesh in the standards issued by the U.S. Bureau of Standards or 6 percent by weight of coarsely ground hard bone, which shall be in pieces no smaller than the opening size specified for No. 8 mesh in said Standards, uniformly incorporated with the product, may be used in lieu of the agents prescribed in paragraph (a)(2) of this section.
(5) Before the denaturing agents are applied to articles in pieces more than 4 inches in diameter, the pieces shall be freely slashed or sectioned. (If the articles are in pieces not more than 4 inches in diameter, slashing or sectioning will not be necessary.) The application of any of the denaturing agents listed in paragraph (a) (1) or (2) of this section to the outer surface of molds or blocks or boneless meat, meat by-products, or meat food products shall not be adequate. The denaturing agent must be mixed intimately with all the material to be denatured, and must be applied in such quantity and manner that it cannot easily and readily be removed by washing or soaking. A sufficient amount of the appropriate agent shall be used to give the material a distinctive color, odor, or taste so that such material cannot be confused with an article of human food.
(b) Inedible rendered animal fats shall be denatured by thoroughly mixing therein denaturing oil, No. 2 fuel oil, brucine dissolved in a mixture of alcohol and pine oil or oil of rosemary, finely powdered charcoal, or any proprietary denaturing agent approved for the purpose by the Administrator in specific cases. The charcoal shall be used in no less quantity than 100 parts per million and shall be of such character that it will remain suspended indefinitely in the liquid fat. Sufficient of the chosen identifying agents shall be used to give the rendered fat so distinctive a color, odor, or taste that it cannot be confused with an article of human food.
[51 FR 37707, Oct. 24, 1986]