# Montgomery County Code — Part II. Local Laws, Ordinances, Resolutions, Etc.

## Chapter 46. Slaughterhouses.

### Article II. Health Standards and Regulations.

**Sec. 46-8. Construction requirements for buildings generally.**

  All slaughterhouses shall be located on a well-drained site. All pens, coops and hutches shall be well drained so as to prevent standing pools of water. All floor areas shall be constructed of or covered with smooth concrete, tile or other impervious material and the floor material shall extend up to at least six (6) inches onto the walls. All floors shall be sloped to drain effectively. All walls and ceilings shall be covered with smooth, washable, nonabsorbent material, free from cracks, crevices and open joints.

**Sec. 46-9. Room conditions and facilities.**

  Rooms in slaughterhouses for killing and dressing shall be separated by partitions from other parts of the building. Every room, except refrigeration and cold storage rooms, shall have adequate hand-washing facilities. All rooms shall be well ventilated and shall be kept free from excessive odors and condensation. All rooms shall be lighted so as to provide adequate illumination at all working surfaces. All killing rooms shall have available hot and cold water under pressure.

**Sec. 46-10. Refrigeration.**

  Every slaughterhouse shall be provided with chilling and cold storage facilities of such capacity so that no meat will be required to be held without refrigeration for a longer period than four (4) hours. Refrigeration equipment shall be of such capacity as to maintain a uniform temperature no higher than forty-five (45) degrees Fahrenheit. All refrigeration chambers shall be provided with an indicating thermometer, and if products are kept over forty-eight (48) hours, a recording thermometer shall be provided. Charts from such recording thermometers shall be retained for six (6) months. There shall be no floor drains in refrigeration chambers.

**Sec. 46-11. Pest control.**

  All new buildings in which slaughterhouses are located shall be of rat-proof construction, and all buildings existing on November 25, 1954 shall be rat-proof insofar as practicable. All windows and doors shall be effectively screened or otherwise protected against the entrance of flies and other insects.

**Sec. 46-12. Water and sewage.**

  Slaughterhouses shall be required to comply with applicable laws and regulations with respect to water and sewage. Blood shall be diverted from the sewer system.

**Sec. 46-13. Equipment and utensils.**

  Equipment and utensils used for preparing, processing and otherwise handling any meat or meat products in slaughterhouses shall be of such material and of such construction as can be readily and thoroughly cleaned. All utensils and equipment used in the slaughtering, preparing, processing or packing of meat and meat products shall be thoroughly cleaned and shall be treated with an approved bactericidal process daily.

**Sec. 46-14. Sanitary requirements for employees.**

  Aprons, smocks and other outer clothing worn by persons who handle any meat or meat products in slaughterhouses shall be of a material that is readily cleaned, and only clean garments shall be worn. No person who has an infected wound or who has any communicable disease shall handle any meat or meat product. Every person connected with a slaughtering establishment shall furnish such information, permit such physical examination or X-rays and submit such laboratory specimens as the health officer may require for the purpose of determining freedom from infections.

**Sec. 46-15. Waste disposal containers.**

  There shall be available sufficient watertight, nonabsorbent and insect- and rodent-proof containers equipped with tight covers to store blood, offal and nonedible portions of the slaughtered poultry and animals. The containers shall be stored high enough above the ground or floor to permit cleaning under such containers, and their contents shall be transported to a rendering plant or buried daily. The containers shall be washed and rinsed after emptying.

**Sec. 46-16. Removal of sweepings and absorbent compounds; cleaning of holding pens, coops and hutches; manure removal.**

  Sweepings and absorbent compounds shall be removed from the floor of slaughterhouses daily when in use. All holding pens, coops and hutches shall be cleaned daily when in use and manure stored in a watertight and flytight container or spread on fields. All manure shall be removed at least every four (4) days.

**Sec. 46-17. Rooms to be kept free from flies, roaches, rodents, etc.; restrictions on use of poisons.**

  The rooms of the slaughterhouses shall be kept free of flies, roaches, rodents and other vermin. The use of poisons for any purpose in rooms or compartments where any unpacked meat or meat products are handled shall be permitted only under supervision of the director.

**Sec. 46-18. Diseased or emaciated animals.**

  No visibly diseased or unduly emaciated animal shall be slaughtered in any slaughterhouse where animals are slaughtered, processed, cured, smoked or rendered for human consumption. If the director of the department of health believes an animal to be diseased or unduly emaciated, he may order the animal to be withheld from slaughtering until the licensee submits a written report signed by a licensed veterinarian to the director of the department of health stating that the animal is fit for human consumption.