As part of NSIS, the new definition of Ready-to-cook pork products (RTC) is any slaughtered pork product sufficiently free from bile, hair, scurf, dirt, hooves, toe nails, claws, bruises, edema, scabs, skin lesions, icterus, foreign material, and odor which is suitable for cooking without the need of further processing.

• A. Ready-to-cook pork products are those requiring minimal processing before cooking
• B. Ready-to-cook pork products are only those that are already fully cooked
• C. Ready-to-cook pork products are any slaughtered pork product sufficiently free from bile, hair, scurf, dirt, hooves, toe nails, claws, bruises, edema, scabs, skin lesions, icterus, foreign material, and odor which is suitable for cooking without the need of further processing
• D. Ready-to-cook pork products include any product that can be cooked without prior inspection

Answer: (C)

Ready-to-cook pork products are pork products that are sufficiently clean and free from a long list of contaminants—bile, hair, scurf, dirt, hooves, toe nails, claws, bruises, edema, scabs, skin lesions, icterus, foreign material, and odor—and are ready to cook without any further processing. The key idea is that no additional trimming, washing, or other handling is required before cooking, so the product can go straight to cooking.

This is different from being fully cooked, which would mean no cooking is needed at all. It’s also not correct to say that RTC can be prepared without any safety checks or inspection; the definition emphasizes cleanliness and absence of contaminants, not bypassing inspections. And it’s not just “minimal processing”—RTC must require no further processing before cooking, not just a little.