By Ann Bagel Storck on 3/12/2008 for Meatingplace.com

The Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued two new notices:
Notice 16-08, Humane Handling Activities and Documentation in Livestock
Slaughter Establishments, and Notice 17-08, Increased Verification of
Humane Handling Requirements in Livestock Slaughter Establishments.

Notice 16-08 is a re-issuance of Notice 14-08, providing additional
information in the documentation section and instructions about how
inspectors should document Humane Activities Tracking System (HATS)
activities. Specifically, the notice includes a new bullet that reads,
"Immediately take any necessary regulatory control action to prevent
continued egregious inhumane handling" for situations where there are
egregious humane handling noncompliances. FSIS has also updated the
sample memorandum of interview provided in the attachment

Notice 17-08 announces that, as of March 10, inspection program
personnel assigned to federally inspected livestock slaughter
establishments are to significantly increase the time spent verifying
humane handling regulatory requirements and document those verification
activities in HATS. Inspection personnel are to increase their HATS
activities a minimum of 50 percent and up to 100 percent, depending on
the type of livestock being slaughtered. Increased HATS activities will
continue until May 6, 2008.