Meat processing plants - FSA/FSS review

On 2 March 2018, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) published details of a major review into the sites where meat products are processed and stored in the UK.

The review comes in the wake of incidents involving major businesses in the meat industry over the last six months over adherence to hygiene rules designed to keep consumers safe and to sustain public trust in food.

The FSA also published its update to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s inquiry into standards in poultry processing and the findings of the FSA’s investigation into the 2 Sisters Food Group.

The scope of the review will incorporate:

• all types of cutting plants (red meat, white meat and game)
• how the current legislation works and the guidance supporting it
• how the ‘official controls’ are carried out which must be followed to ensure compliance with hygiene legislative requirements (this includes audits, inspections, sampling and surveillance)
• the roles and responsibilities of food businesses, regulators and assurance bodies
• how incidents are managed and responded to
• the end to end process of withdrawing and recalling products across the whole food chain

Sources: FSS News Release, 2 March 2018 and FSA News Release, 1 March 2018