The Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995

Regulations 4(2)(a)(i) and (v) and 8(1)(e)

SCHEDULE 9 SLAUGHTER AND DRESSING PRACTICES— REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE IN SLAUGHTERHOUSES AND FARMED GAME PROCESSING FACILITIES

1.—(1) The occupier and persons engaged in the handling of fresh meat shall ensure that—

(a) animals brought into the slaughterhall of any slaughterhouse are slaughtered without delay;

(b) in any slaughterhouse where both swine and other animals are slaughtered, swine are slaughtered and dressed in a separate room or alternatively using the method of operation referred to in paragraph 2 of Schedule 2;

(c) in any slaughterhouse where both farmed game and other animals are slaughtered, farmed game is slaughtered and dressed in a separate room or at a different time from other animals;

(d) fresh meat is adequately protected from the risk of contamination at all stages of the slaughtering and dressing process and during storage and despatch, and in particular that—

(i) bleeding and dressing processes are not carried out on the floor and no carcase or offal comes into contact with the floor;

(ii) during the dressing process adequate precautions are taken to avoid the risk of discharge of materials and fluids from the alimentary tract, urinary bladder and uterus of any animal; and

(iii) offal is removed from the carcase in such a way as to avoid contamination of the offal or the carcase;

(e) bleeding is completed without delay and all blood is immediately swilled down a drain via a suitable trough or collected in a clean receptacle provided for that purpose and, if intended for human consumption, is so kept as to remain readily identifiable with the carcase from which it was collected until the carcase have been inspected in accordance with Schedule 10;

(f) the following are discarded immediately after slaughter—

(i) in the case of sheep and goats, the head, including the tongue and brain, if no part of it is intended for human consumption;

(ii) the penis if it is not intended for human consumption, and an inspector or OVS is satisfied that it shows no pathological symptom or lesion;

(g) without prejudice to paragraph 1(j) of Schedule 2, paragraph 1(e) of Part II of Schedule 5, paragraph 1(t) of Part II of Schedule 6, paragraph 1(q) of Part III of Schedule 6 and sub-paragraph (n) below, and subject to the requirements of regulation 11, the stomachs and intestines of slaughtered animals are removed from the slaughterhall or in the case of a farmed game processing facility, from the dressing room, unopened, and in such a manner that they do not come into contact with the floor, as soon as possible after they have been separated from the carcase and that they are not opened or cleaned in any part of the premises which contains blood intended for human consumption or any fresh meat other than stomachs or intestines;

(h) slaughtered animals are dressed in the following manner—

(i) in the case of bovine animals, solipeds and farmed deer, by the removal of the hide or skin, (save that the head of any bovine animals under six weeks old and the head of any deer not intended for human consumption need not be flayed provided they are handled in a manner avoiding contamination of fresh meat and that the OVS is satisfied that the heads can be satisfactorily inspected), the tonsils, the horns or antlers (which shall be removed at the time of flaying), the head (save that where retention of the ears on carcases of bovine animals is necessary for any certification purpose removal of the ears may be delayed until completion of that certification), the viscera (save that the lungs, the heart, the liver, the spleen and the mediastinum may remain attached to the carcase by their natural connections), the genital organs (subject to sub-paragraph (f)(ii) above), the urinary bladder, the feet up to the carpal and tarsal joints and, in the case of lactating animals or animals that have given birth or are in advanced pregnancy, the udder; the kidneys shall be removed from their fatty coverings and their perirenals capsules;

(ii) in the case of swine, by the removal of the tonsils, the hair and bristles (where the bristles are removed by using a debristling agent the carcase must immediately afterwards be rinsed in water which is clean and wholesome) or the skin, the claws, the viscera (save that the lungs, the heart, the liver, the spleen and the mediastinum may remain attached to the carcase by their natural connections), the genital organs (subject to sub-paragraph (f)(ii) above), the urinary bladder, and, in the case of lactating animals or animals that have given birth or are in advanced pregnancy, the udder, the kidneys shall be removed from their fatty coverings and their perirenal capsules;

(iii) in the case of sheep and goats, by the removal of the skin, the head, the viscera (save that the lungs, the heart, the liver, the spleen and the mediastinum may remain attached to the carcase by their natural connections), the genital organs (subject to sub-paragraph (f)(ii) above), the urinary bladder, the feet up to the carpal and tarsal joints and, in the case of lactating animals or animals that have given birth or are in advanced pregnancy, the udder; the kidneys shall be removed from their fatty coverings;

(i) during the flaying of any cow the teats are not excised and are left intact for removal with the udder from the carcase;

(j) no incision is made into the substance of any udder except by or on the direction of an inspector or OVS;

(k) there is no contact between the external surfaces of the skin of any animal and any offal or flayed or partly flayed carcase and there is placing of the unskinned head of any bovine animal under 6 weeks of age, deer, sheep or goat in any room containing fresh meat;

(l) every hide and skin is removed from any part of the slaughterhouse or farmed game processing facility containing any fresh meat or containing any blood intended for human consumption as soon as possible after it has been separated from the carcase, every such hide and skin being removed in such a way that it does not come into contact with the floor;

(m) evisceration is carried out immediately after flaying or depilation as appropriate and completed—

(i) not later than 45 minutes after stunning; or

(ii) in the case of religious slaughter, not later than 30 minutes after bleeding; or

(iii) in the case of the slaughtered and bled body of an animal brought into a slaughterhouse in accordance with regulation 18(2) no later than 3 hours after slaughter, or

(iv) in the case of the slaughtered and bled bodies of farmed game brought into a slaughterhouse or farmed game processing facility in accordance with sub-paragraph (e) of Part I of Schedule 6, no later than 3 hours after slaughter.

(n) subject to sub-paragraph (g) above, the organs and viscera of any animal are so kept as to remain readily identifiable with the carcase until that carcase has been inspected in accordance with Schedule 10, and any samples required for residue tests under the Animals, Meat and Meat Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) Regulation 1991(1) have been taken, and the head and feet of any animal are kept available for inspection in the slaughterhouse or farmed game processing facility until an OVS or inspector authorises their removal;

(o) carcase of solipeds, bovine animals over six months old and, subject to paragraph (2) below, swine over four weeks old are split lengthwise through the spinal column before being submitted for inspection in accordance with Schedule 10 and any other carcase or the head of any animal is split lengthwise if an inspector or OVS considers it necessary for the purpose of carrying out the inspection prescribed in Schedule 10;

(p) slaughtered animals are dressed and treated in such a manner as not to prevent or hinder inspection in accordance with Schedule 10 and in particular no carcase is cut up and, subject to sub-paragraph (f) above, no part other than the hide or skin of any slaughtered animal is removed from the slaughterhouse or farmed game processing facility until the inspection prescribed in Schedule 10 has been completed and any samples required for residue tests under the Animals, Meat and Meat Products (Examination for Residue and Maximum Residue Limits) Regulations 1991 have been taken, and no action is taken which might alter or destroy any evidence of disease or contamination before inspection;

(q) subject to paragraph 3 of Schedule 11, fresh meat is placed without undue delay in a refrigeration room and is brought progressively to an internal temperature of not more than +7°C for carcases, half carcases, half carcases cut into three wholesale cuts and quarter carcases and +3°C for offal, and is subsequently kept constantly at or below that temperature; save that fresh meat shall not be required to be so refrigerated where—

(i) it is removed from any slaughterhouse or farmed game processing facility within 24 hours of slaughter for delivery to cutting premises or butchers' shops;

(ii) such transportation can be completed within one hour; and

(iii) provided it is kept under hygienic conditions before removal from such premises;

(r) meat resulting from trimming of the sticking point, rejected as unfit for human consumption under Schedule 10, Part IX paragraph 8, is removed;

(s) no implement is left in fresh meat; and

(t) where back bleeding ensues upon the slaughter of an animal, the pleura are not completely detached from the carcase until an inspector or OVS authorises their removal.

(2) To take account of technological requirements, or where carcases are intended for the production of traditional pig products or cuts, the OVS may authorise the submission for inspection of carcases of swine not split in half.

(3) In sub-paragraph (1)(q) above“refrigeration room” means a room such as is mentioned—

(a) in paragraph 1(i) of Schedule 2;

(b) in paragraph 1(i) of Part I of Schedule 5;

(c) in paragraph 1(i) of Part II of Schedule 6;

(d) in paragraph 1(h) of Part III of that Schedule.

2.  In any slaughterhouse—

(1) where bovine animals, sheep, goats, solipeds or farmed deer are slaughtered and dressed following the slaughter of swine, the occupier shall ensure that thorough cleaning and disinfection of the slaughterhall takes place following the slaughter of swine; and

(2) where other animals are slaughtered and dressed following the slaughter and dressing of farmed game, the occupier shall ensure that thorough cleaning and disinfection of the slaughterhall takes place following the slaughter of farmed game.

3.  Large wild game may be dressed in a slaughterhouse provided that—

(a) any carcase of such game is skinned in a room separate from that reserved for fresh meat, or at a different time; and

(b) any such slaughterhouse is granted a special approval for the purposes of Council Directive 92/45/EEC.

(1)

S.I. 1991/2843.