FPL Food: Non-Compliance to Humane Livestock Handling in 2022 (USDA)
See the detail of the non-compliance of humane livestock handling that the USDA observed at the FPL Food slaughterhouse establishment in 2022.
You can also see other establishments that were non-compliant in 2022.
313.2
At approximately 1015 Wednesday August 24,2022, I observed the following noncompliance at FPL Food, M332, Augusta, Ga.: A gooseneck trailer carrying all full sized, mature Holstein cows was backed up to the unloading dock. The 3 cows on the back of the trailer were laying on their sides, with the one Holstein having her neck and head pinned down by a cow on top of her. Due to the size and position of the cows in relationship to the narrowness of the trailer, the cows were unable to move. There were several FPL barn employees present- Barn Administrator REDACTED, Lead employee REDACTED, and REDACTED. A barn employee stunned the cow with a hand held captive bolt, applied a second stun with a captive bolt, and then stuck the cow to bleed it out. Hardly any blood trickled out of the jugular vein. I was standing right next to the cow on the outside of the trailer and could see she maintained rhythmic breathing, and her breathing quickened when they used the knife on her. She was shackled and dragged off the trailer with a forklift. They quickly dragged her about 15 feet before they stopped the forklift. The cow righted itself into sternal recumbency, the eyes were blinking, she had rhythmic breathing, tracking eye movement which included moving its head from side to side. She did not vocalize. The plant employees did nothing to render the cow unconscious until I said to them the cow was conscious, and then they stunned the cow with the hand held captive bolt and effectively rendered it unconscious. I requested REDACTED have a supervisor come to the barn and Harvest Floor Manager REDACTED came. I informed him that a conscious cow had been shackled and drug off the trailer. I was instructed by my FrontLine Supervisor to take regulatory control of the knockbox and used Reject Tag B41502407 and applied it to the knockbox. I told Mr. REDACTED the knockbox was tagged off. On postmortem, the head was skinned and three distinct point of entry were identified. I spoke with my IIC Dr. REDACTED and alerted her to the situation. This incident is noncompliant with: 313.2 Handling of Livestock (a) Driving of livestock from the unloading ramps to the holding pens and from the holding pens to the stunning area shall be done with a minimum of excitement and discomfort to the animal. (2) The dragging of disabled animals and other animals unable to move, while conscious, is prohibited.
313.1
CFR 313.1(a) Livestock pens, driveways, and ramps Livestock pens, driveways and ramps shall be maintained in good repair. They should be free from sharp or protruding objects which may, in the opinion of the inspector, cause injury or pain to the animals. Loose boards, splintered or broken planking, or unnecessary openings where the head, feet, or legs of an animal may be injured shall be repaired. At approximately 0535 during AnteMortem Inspection on November 5,2021, I observed the following noncompliance at M332 FPL Food: The sheet metal wrapped around the cement riser of Pen 4 was protruding approximately 8” into the lane the establishment uses to present cows to IPP for AnteMortem Inspection. The protruding metal could have caused injury or pain to the legs of the animals. I immediately tagged off the lane at Pen 4 with US Retain/Reject tag # B39310389 and asked to speak with a supervisor. FPL Barn Manager REDACTED was notified of the noncompliance. He took corrective action by having maintenance workers remove the metal. No animals were injured. I released the tag from the lane.
