Which statement best describes performance criteria?

• A. Enforceable regulatory standards for maximum allowable bacterial loads on carcasses
• B. Provide a method to roughly quantify the amount of fecal contamination on carcasses
• C. Set standardized sampling intervals
• D. Numbers published in the regulations representing the highest expected bacterial loads on carcasses when the slaughter process is under control

Answer: (D)

Performance criteria are numeric targets that show what the process should produce when it is under control, serving as the benchmark inspectors use to judge ongoing performance. In this context, the numbers published in regulations represent the highest bacterial loads you would expect to see on carcasses if the slaughter process is properly controlled. They provide a concrete standard against which actual measurements are compared to determine if the process is in control and if corrective actions are needed.

The other statements describe different concepts: a standard that sets a maximum allowable level in a regulatory sense, a method to estimate contamination, or the timing of sampling. Those are about overall standards, measurement methods, or sampling schedules, not the performance targets used to assess whether the process is under control.