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]
Contents
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 & glossaryPART 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
Further Information
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Source: MHS & DARDNI - February 2006