Section 7 in The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2001
7. Slaughter house building .-The different construction of a slaughter house shall be built and maintained by its owner in the manner as specified below, namely:-
(a)Plant Building .-(i) Materials used shall be impervious, easily cleansable, and resistant to wear and corrosion. (ii) Materials such as wood, plaster board, and porous acoustic-type boards, which are absorbent and difficult to keep clean shall not be used;(b)Floors .-The floors shall be non-absorbent and non-slippery with rough finish and shall have suitable gradient for drainage;(c)Coves .-Coves with radii sufficient to promote sanitation shall be installed at the juncture of floors and wall, in all rooms and which shall not be less than 100 mm.;(d)Interior Walls .-(i) interior walls shall be smooth and flat and constructed of impervious materials such a glazed brick, glazed tile, smooth surface Portland cement plaster, or other non-toxic, non-absorber material applied to a suitable base. (ii) Walls shall b provided with suitable sanitary type bumpers to prevent damage by hand trucks, carcass shanks, and the like. (iii) The interior walls shall have washable surface up to the height of 2 meters from the floor so that the splashes may be washed and disinfected;(e)Ceilings .-(i) Ceilings shall be of the height of 5 mts or more in workrooms and so far as structure conditions permit, ceilings shall be smooth and flat (ii) Ceilings shall be constructed of Portland cement plaster, large size cement asbestos boards with join sealed with a flexible sealing compound, or other acceptable impervious material and finished so as minimise condensation, mould development, flaking and accumulation of dirt. (iii) The walls above glazed type portion and ceiling shall be painted with water resistant paint to maintain them clean;(f)Window Ledges .-Window ledges shall be sloped 45 degrees to promote sanitation and to avoid damage to glass in windows from impact of hand trucks and similar equipment, the windowsills shall be 1200 mm above the floor level with proper ventilation through mechanical venting or through working vents shall be provided in the roof structure;(g)Doorways and Doors .-(i) Doorways through which product is transferred on rails or in hand trucks shall be at least 1500 mm high and shall be atleast 1500 mm wide. (ii) Doors shall either be of rust-resistant metal construction throughout, or if made with rust resistant metal having tight softwood, they shall be clad on both sides with soldered or welded seams. (iii) Doorjambs shall be clad with rust-resistant metal securely affixed so as to provide no crevices for dirt or vermin and the juncture at which the door joins the walls shall be effectively sealed with a flexible sealing compound;(h)Screens and Insect control .-All windows, doorways and other openings that may admit flies shall be equipped with effective insect and rodent screens and 'Fly chaser' fans and ducts or air curtains shall be provided over doorways in outside wall of food handing areas that are used for dispatch or receiving;(i)Rodent-Proofing .-Except in the case of solid masonry, walls constructed of glazed tile, glazed brick, and the like, expanded metal or wire mesh not exceeding 12.5 mm mesh, shall be embedded in walls and floor at their junction and such mesh shall extend vertically and horizontally to a sufficient distance to exclude the entrance of rats and other rodents;(j)Vehicular areas for Trucks .-(i) Concrete paved areas, properly drained and extending at least 6 metres from building, loading docks or livestock platforms shall be provided at places where vehicles are loaded or unloaded. (ii) Pressure washing jets and disinfection facilities for trucks carrying animals shall also be provided at such places;(k)Drainage .-(i) All parts of floors where wet operations are conducted shall be well drained and as far as possible, one drainage inlet shall be provided for each 37 metre square of floor space (ii) A slope of about 20 mm per metre to drainage inlets shall be provided for usual conditions and it shall be ensured that the floor slopes uniformly to drains with no low spots, which collect liquid. (iii) Floor drains shall not be provided in freezer rooms or dry storage areas and when floor drains are installed in rooms where the water seal in traps is likely to evaporate without replenishment, they shall be provided with suitable removable metal screw plugs;(l)Traps and vents on drainage lines .-(i) Each floor drain, including blood drains, shall be equipped with a deep seal trap (P-, U-, or S-shape) (ii) Drainage lines shall be properly vented to the outside air and be equipped with effective rodent screens;(m)Sanitary drainage lines .-Drainage line from toilet pans and urinals shall not be connected with other drainage lines within the plant and shall not discharge into a grease catch basin and such lines shall be installed so that if leakage develops, it shall not affect the product or the equipment;(n)Lighting and ventilation.-(i) Unrefrigerated work rooms shall be provided with adequate direct natural light and ventilation or ample artificial light and ventilation by mechanical means. (ii) Uncoloured glass having a high transmissibility of light shall be used in skylights and windows (iii) The glass area shall be approximately one-fourth of the floor area of a workroom and such ratio shall be increased where there are obstructions, such as adjacent buildings, overhead catwalks, and hoists, which interfere with the admittance of direct natural light. (iv) Distributed artificial lighting of much quality and at such distances as may be specified by the Central Government shall be provided at all places where adequate natural light is not available or is insufficient;(o)Every abattoir shall be provided with distributed artificial light of an overall intensity of not less than 200 lux at the distances as may be specified by the Central Government throughout the slaughter hall and workrooms and at places where meat inspection is carried out, the overall intensity of artificial light shall be not less than 500 lux;(p)every abattoir shall be provided with suitable and sufficient means of ventilation to the outside air and the construction of the slaughter hall shall be so arranged that the dressed carcasses are not exposed to direct sunlight;(q)a sufficient, safe, potable and constant supply of fresh water shall be available at adequate pressure through the premises;(r)the pressure for the general purpose of floor washing may preferably be 200 to 330 kPa for through floor cleaning;(s)for thorough and efficient washing of carcasses, a higher pressure between 1000 kPa to 1 700 kPa shall be maintained;(t)floor washing point shall be provided preferably for minimum 37 meter square on slaughter floor and working departments;(u)a constant supply of clean hot water shall be available in the slaughter hall and workrooms during working hours and the hot water required for frequent sterilising of equipment shall not be less than 82 degree celsius;(v)where necessary for sanitary maintenance, equipment shall be constructed and installed so as to be completely self-draining;(w)the following materials shall not be used in an abattoir, namely:-(i)copper and its alloys in equipment used for edible products;(ii)cadmium in any form in equipment handling edible products;(iii)equipment with painted surface in product zone;(iv)enamel containers or equipment is not desirable; and(v)lead;(x)all permanently mounted equipment shall either be installed sufficiently away from walls (minimum 300 mm) to provide access for cleaning and inspection;(y)all permanently mounted equipment shall either be installed sufficiently above the floor (minimum 300 mm) to provide access for cleaning and inspection or be completely sealed (watertight) to the floor area.
