Notwithstanding any other provisions of this part, fresh (chilled or frozen) beef and ovine meat from Uruguay may be exported to the United States under the following conditions:
(a) The meat is beef or ovine meat from animals that have been born, raised, and slaughtered in Uruguay.
(b) Foot-and-mouth disease has not been diagnosed in Uruguay within the previous 12 months.
(c) The meat comes from bovines or sheep that originate from premises where foot-and-mouth disease has not been present during the lifetime of any bovines and sheep slaughtered for the export of beef and ovine meat to the United States.
(d) The meat comes from bovines or sheep that were moved directly from the premises of origin to the slaughtering establishment without any contact with other animals.
(e) The meat comes from bovines or sheep that received ante-mortem and post-mortem veterinary inspections, paying particular attention to the head and feet, at the slaughtering establishment, with no evidence found of vesicular disease.
(f) The meat consists only of bovine parts or ovine parts that are, by standard practice, part of the animal's carcass that is placed in a chiller for maturation after slaughter. The bovine and ovine parts that may not be imported include all parts of the head, feet, hump, hooves, and internal organs.
(g) All bone and visually identifiable blood clots and lymphoid tissue have been removed from the meat.
(h) The meat has not been in contact with meat from regions other than those listed as free of foot-and-mouth disease and rinderpest under Sec. 94.1(a).
(i) The meat comes from carcasses that were allowed to maturate at 40 to 50 [deg]F (4 to 10 [deg]C) for a minimum of 24 hours after slaughter and that reached a pH below 6.0 in the loin muscle at the end of the maturation period. Measurements for pH must be taken at the middle of both longissimus dorsi muscles. Any carcass in which the pH does not reach less than 6.0 may be allowed to maturate an additional 24 hours and be retested, and, if the carcass still has not reached a pH of less than 6.0 after 48 hours, the meat from the carcass may not be exported to the United States.
(j) An authorized veterinary official of the Government of Uruguay certifies on the foreign meat inspection certificate that the above conditions have been met.
(k) The establishment in which the bovines and sheep are slaughtered allows periodic on-site evaluation and subsequent inspection of its facilities, records, and operations by an APHIS representative. (Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 0579-0372) [78 FR 68330, Nov. 14, 2013. Redesignated at 78 FR 72999, Dec. 4, 2013]