Section 001-332-17 - TEMPERATURES AND COOLING AND FREEZING PROCEDURESA. Temperatures and procedures which are necessary for cooling and freezing of ready-to-cook and heat-treate drabbit products in accordance with sound commercial practices shall be maintained in the coolers and freezers, and chilling temperatures and procedures shall also be in accordance with sound commercial practice. (1)Cooling. Immediately after evisceration and washing of the rabbit carcass, it shall be placed in a cooling tank containing running cold tap water to remove the animal heat from the carcass. Carcasses shall not be allowed to remain in the cooling tank for longer than 1 hour.(2)Air chilling. Immediately after the initial water chilling, the carcasses shall be placed in cooling racks and placed in a refrigerated cooler at a temperature which will reduce the internal temperature of the carcasses to 36 °F within 24 hours.(3)Freezing. When ready-to-cook and heat treated rabbit products are frozen, the carcasses should receive an initial rapid freezing under such packaging, temperature, air circulation, and stacking conditions which will result in freezing the carcasses solid in less than 48 hours. Frozen ready-to-cook rabbits and heat treated rabbit products shall be held under conditions which will maintain the product in a solidly frozen state with temperature maintained as constant as possible.(4)Refrigeration. Immediately after packaging, all ready-to-cook rabbits, shall be refrigerated and held at 36º F to 40°F.B. Each freezer and cold storage compartment used to store and hold food capable of supporting growth of microorganisms shall be fitted with an indicating thermometer, temperature-measuring device, or temperature-recording device so installed as to show the temperature accurately within the compartment.C.Heat Treated rabbit products shall be chilled: (1) Within 2 hours, from 135º F to 70º F; and(2) Within a total of 6 hours, from 135 º F to 41º F or less. 01-001 C.M.R. ch. 332, § 17