Traceability of edible carcass parts (slaughter, C0)
Plain-language summary
Slaughter operations must keep every edible part of a carcass — blood included — traceable until the carcass is declared fit for human consumption.
What the clause is really asking
ISO 22000 8.3 requires a traceability system; for subcategory C0 FSSC makes it specific to the moment of greatest risk. All edible parts of the carcass, including blood intended for human consumption, must remain traceable to the animal until the carcass is deemed fit for human consumption — so that a post-mortem rejection can pull every part that came from that animal.
What auditors look for
Auditors follow one animal from lairage through slaughter and evisceration and ask where its blood, offal and trimmings are at the moment of the fitness decision, and how they would be recovered if the carcass were condemned.
Typical evidence
Traceability procedure for edible carcass parts; batch or animal identification on offal, blood and trim containers; records linking parts to the carcass; evidence of a recall of parts following a condemnation
How to comply — recommendations
Identify blood and offal containers by kill batch or animal at the point of collection, not later, and hold them until the inspection decision. Test the system with a mock condemnation.
Common nonconformities
Blood or offal pooled before the fitness decision; identification lost between evisceration and the inspection point; traceability exercise never tested on carcass parts
Related clauses
ISO 22000 8.3 (traceability), 8.9.5 (withdrawal/recall); FSSC 22000 2.5.10 (post-slaughter time and temperature), 2.5.11 (lairage inspection)
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