Which of the following is NOT a verification step for the zero tolerance standard?

The zero tolerance standard in meat and poultry inspection emphasizes that any presence of certain pathogenic microorganisms or contaminants is unacceptable at any point in the processing chain. To uphold this standard, specific verification steps are established to ensure that products consistently meet safety requirements.

The verification steps, such as inspection before chilling, post-mortem verification, and final packaging review, are designed to monitor and assess various stages of production. Inspection before chilling helps to catch any contaminants before the product enters a critical cooling stage, post-mortem verification involves examining carcasses for compliance with safety standards after slaughter, and final packaging review checks for any safety or contamination issues just before products are shipped to consumers.

In contrast, the pre-shipment examination, while also important for quality assurance, is not aligned with the zero tolerance measure as it primarily focuses on checking products for compliance and quality right before they are dispatched, rather than actively ensuring and verifying safety at multiple earlier stages of processing. This makes it a less critical step regarding the explicit zero tolerance for contamination throughout the production process.