USDA

United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Field Operations

Chicago District Office 1919 S. Highland Av. St. 1 ISC Lombard, Illinois 60148 630-620-7474

Electronic Copy Provided Via E-Mail and Delivered By Courier

September 6, 20 13

Patricia Graham Plant Owner Establishment M27435 Graham ' s Organic Meats, LLC 3653 East Weidman Rosebush, MI 48878

NOTICE OF SUSPENSION, REVISION

Dear Ms. Graham: This letter confirms the September 5, 2013, verbal notification provided to you by Dr. Tamara Mayberry Davis, Deputy District Manager (DOM), of the Food Safety and Inspection Service's (FSIS) decision to suspend the assignment of inspection program personnel from the slaughter process at your establishment, located at the above address, as specified in Title 9 of the Code of Federal Regulations (9 CFR) 500.3 (b). This action was taken because of your establishment' s inability or unwillingness to effecti vely implement humane methods of slaughtering and handling of animals under the Acts, as outlined below, and in a manner that complies with FSIS regulatory requirements. This action is based on FSIS' findings that your establishment failed to comply with the requirements of 9 CFR 313. 15 (a) (3) and 313.15 (b) (1) (iv).

Background I Authority
The Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) (21 U.S .C. 603 sec. 3. (b)) states, "for the purpose of preventing the inhumane slaughtering of livestock, the Secretary shall cause to be made, by inspectors appointed for that purpose, an examination and inspection of the method by which cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equines are slaughtered and handled in connection with slaughter in the slaughtering establishments inspected under this Act. The Secretary may refuse to provide inspection to a new slaughtering establishment or may cause inspection to be temporarily suspended at a slaughtering establishment if the Secretary finds that any cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equines have been slaughtered or handled in connection with slaughter at such establishment by any method not in accordance with Sections 190 l to 1906 of Title 7 until the establishment furnishes assurances satisfactory to the Secretary that all slaughtering and handling in connection with slaughter of livestock shall be in accordance with such a method." In addition, under prohibited acts 2 1 U.S.C. 610 sec 10 (b), "No person, firm or corporation shall, with the respect to any cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, and other equines, or any carcasses, parts of carcasses, meat or meat food products of any such animals slaughter or handle in connection with slaughter any such animals in any manner not in accordance with sections 190 l to 1906 of Title 7.

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Patricia Graham Owner Est. 27435 Graham's Organic Meats, LLC. NOS

Page 3 of5 September 6, 2013

This event is noncompliant with 9 CFR 3 13. 15 (a) (3) which states, "Immediately after the stunning blow is delivered the animals shall be in a state of complete unconsciousness and remain in this condition throughout shackling, sticking and bleeding;" and 9 CFR 3 13.15 (b) (1) (iv) which states, "The stunning operation is an exacting procedure and requires a well-trained and experienced operator. He must be able to accurately place the stunning instrument to produce immediate unconsciousness. He must use the correct detonating charge with regard to kind, breed, size, age, and sex of the animal to produce the desired results." A beef cow regained consciousness after being stunned, shackled, hoisted, and cut. animal to regain consciousness after stunning was egregiously inhumane. Allowing this

FSIS Directive 6900.2 Revision 2, "Humane Handling and Slaughter of Livestock," states that an egregious event may be subject to enforcement discretion and the establishment issued a Notice of Intended Enforcement (NOIE) rather than a Notice of Suspension (NOS), ifthe establishment: I . Does not have any recent humane handling related enforcement actions; 2. Has consistently been meeting the humane handling regulatory requirements; 3. Has been operating under a written animal handling program that establishment management has proffered as a robust systematic approach and made accessible to IPP ; and 4. Has demonstrated the robustness of the program to IPP by effectively and consistently implementing all aspects of its program. Your establishment is currently not operating under a written animal handling program that was proffered as a robust systematic approach as described in FSIS Directive 6900.2 Rev. 2. You are being issued a NOS rather than an NOIE because you have not implemented a robust systematic approach to humane handling at your facility.

Svstematic Approach to Humane Handling

On September 9, 2004, FSIS published, in the Federal Register Notice (54 Fed. Reg. 54625), a document titled, "Humane Handling and Slaughter Requirements and the Merits of a Systematic Approach to Meet Such Requirements." A systematic approach to humane handling is comprised of the following components. 1. Conduct an initial assessment of where, and under what circumstances, livestock may experience excitement, discomfort, or accidental injury while being handled in connection with slaughter, and of where, and under what circumstances, stunning problems may occur; 2. Design facilities and implement practices that will minimize excitement, di scomfort, and accidental injury to livestock; 3. Evaluate periodically the handling methods the establishment employs to ensure that those methods minimize excitement, discomfort, or accidental injury and evaluate those stunning methods periodically to ensure that all livestock are rendered insensible to pain by a single blow; and 4. Respond to the evaluations, as appropriate, by addressing problems immediately and by improving those practices and modifying facilities when necessary to minimize excitement, discomfort, and accidental injury to livestock.

Patricia Graham Owner Est. 27435 Graham' s Organic Meats, LLC. NOS

Page 4 of5 September 6, 2013

In order for slaughter inspection to resume at your establishment, your company must submit corrective actions, to my attention, which address the following:

1. Identify the specific reason(s) why the events described occurred; 2. Describe the specific action(s) that will be taken to eliminate the cause of the incident and prevent future recurrences; and 3. Describe specifically the future monitoring activity (ies) that your establishment will use to ensure that the actions taken are effective.

Please be advised that your establishment has the right to appeal this matter. If you wish to appeal this action, you may contact: Dr. Keith Gilmore Executive Associate for Regulatory Operations USDA, FSIS, OFO 210 Walnut St. Room 923 Des Moines, IA 50309 Telephone: (515) 727-8970 or (785) 766-9830

In addition, your establishment may request a hearing regarding this determination pursuant to the FSIS Rules of Practice, 9 CFR 500. Rules ofPractice were published in the Federal Register Vol. 64, No. 228 on November 28, 2003. As specified in 9 CFR 500.5, should your establishment request a hearing, FSIS will file a complaint that will include a request for an expedited hearing. If your establishment wishes to request a hearing regarding this determination, it should contact:

Director Enforcement and Litigation Division Office of Investigation, Enforcement and Analysis Food Safety and Inspection Service United States Department of Agriculture Stop Code 3753, PP3, Cubicle 93 355 E. Street SW Washington, DC 20024-3221 Telephone: (202) 245-5097 Fax: (202) 245-5097 ns i re ! ardi feel free to contact (b) (7)(C) have any questii (b) (7)(C) (b) (7)(C) (b) (7)(C) at (616) 304 at (608) 63 (b) (7)(C) (b) (7)(C) (b) (7)(C) at (630) 620- (b) (7)(C) or 630-620-7474. It is our matter can be resolved quickly. We urge your cooperation and voluntary compliance.

Patric ia Graham Owner Est. 27435 Graham's Organic Meats, LLC. NOS

Page 5 ofS September 6, 20 13

Sincerely,

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Paul V. Wolseley District Manager Chicago District

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