A Guide To The Food Hygiene & Other Regulations For The Meat Industry

By The Meat Hygiene Services and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland - This Guide is relevant to those UK food businesses that slaughter animals for human consumption or cut or process meat, particularly those establishments that are subject to approval and, in the case of slaughterhouses, cutting plants, game handling establishments and co-located premises, veterinary control.

20 February 2006

4 minute read

A Guide To The Food Hygiene & Other Regulations For The Meat Industry - By The Meat Hygiene Services and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland - This Guide is relevant to those UK food businesses that slaughter animals for human consumption or cut or process meat, particularly those establishments that are subject to approval and, in the case of slaughterhouses, cutting plants, game handling establishments and co-located premises, veterinary control.

Its aim is to guide both industry and government users through the legislation and achieve a widely agreed view of good practice.

Operations covered in the Guide

Slaughter of red meat species
Slaughter of poultry and rabbits
Slaughter of farmed game
Handling of wild game
Cutting of red, white or game meat
Production of meat products, minced meat, meat preparations and mechanically separated meat

From 1 January 2006 new food hygiene regulations apply in all EU Member States. The legislation emphasises every food business operators’ responsibility to produce food safely. Although some specific slaughter and meat handling requirements remain, these regulations replace many prescriptive requirements of previous meat hygiene laws with obligations placed on all food businesses to apply good hygienic practices and food safety management procedures based on hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) principles.

Previously, the licensed meat sector’s only official guides were references to operator’s duties in enforcement officer’s manuals1. These manuals have been revised to reflect the new legislation and no longer include information about operator’s duties. The Agency has therefore worked with representatives of the meat industry and enforcement bodies to produce a single guide to the legislation to which operators, enforcement officers and policy makers may refer.

The Agency would like to thank everyone involved in producing this document and invites any user to submit suggested amendments or corrections of factual errors to the Industry Guide Editor, Meat Hygiene & Veterinary Division, FSA, 3rd Floor, 125 Kingsway, London WC2B 6NH or email to: [email protected]

PART ONE

1. Contents 2. Amendment Record 3. Introduction to the Regulations 4. How to Use the Guide 5. General Obligations for Operators & Official Controls 6. Hazards in Meat Production 7. Approval of Fresh Meat Establishments 8. Definitions & glossary

PART TWO 1. Design & Facilities 2. Water Supply 3. Maintenance 4. Cleaning 5. Pest Control 6. Training 7. Personal Hygiene 8. Raw Materials including live animals 9. Temperature Controls 10. Meat Production 11. Traceability of Food (Identification & Health Marking) 12 Wrapping & Packaging 13. Waste Management 14. Transport Hygiene

PART THREE HACCP (draft under review) Microbiological Testing (draft in preparation)

PART FOUR [Information on current legislation may be added] SRM Animal By-Products (with Edible Co-Products guidance?) BSE/TSE Testing Cattle Identification (include in Chapter 8 or 9?) Animal Welfare (include in Slaughter & Hygiene Chapter 9?) Notifiable Disease