Appendix C: Poultry Best Management Practices Questionnaire

(NOTE: This questionnaire may be used by insurance companies to assess a
producer’s knowledge of best practices for poultry processing when applying for
liability and other farm insurance coverage)
Name________________________ Farm Name________________________________
Training: Please describe any formal or informal training in poultry processing you’ve received. Include the duration and date(s) of training, as well as the training provider (organization and instructor). _________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
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Number of birds processed annually on your farm?
___________ chickens __________ turkeys ___________ ducks __________other
Do you:
1. Process your birds in: ____Your own on-farm set-up? ___Mobile Poultry Processing Unit?
2. Use only FDA-approved food-grade packaging materials (freezer paper, plastic wrap, shrink bags)?        Y         N
3. Properly label packaged poultry with farm name and address, date slaughtered, safe handling instructions, and “Exempted PL 90-492”?        Y          N
4. Sell the poultry ________fresh ________frozen?
If fresh, are they: __________picked up within 4 hrs of slaughter or _________held
at <41° F for no more than 4 days?
5. Provide a hand-washing station with soap and hot water?        Y       N
Train all poultry processing helpers/personnel to wash hands frequently, particularly if they touch anything that could affect food safety?      Y          N
6. Keep the poultry holding and slaughter area (including scalder and plucker) physically separate from the evisceration and packaging areas?       Y           N
Train helpers/personnel not to move between these areas?          Y             N
7. Use potable water for all aspects of processing, including ice and water for chilling the poultry and hand-washing for personnel?         Y         N
Date of last water test? ____________
8. Use a digital thermometer to ensure that carcass temperatures are reduced to 40° F or less within 4 hours of evisceration?          Y           N
9. Sanitize all equipment—transport coops, including knives, thermometers, chill tank, and evisceration tables—with appropriate sanitizer (i.e. bleach, detergent, hydrogen peroxide) before commencing processing?       Y           N
10. Discard any food product that falls on the ground?      Y       N
Re-sanitize any tool (knife, thermometer, hose, etc) that falls on the ground?       Y       N
11. Sell poultry only to the end consumer either from your farm, a CSA, or at a farmers’ market?      Y        N