Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“animals” means the following food sources namely—

(a)

domestic animals of the following species: bovine animals (including buffalo of the species Bubalus bubalis and Bison bison), swine, sheep, goats and solipeds; and

(b)

farmed game;

“carcase” means—

(a)

in relation to bovine animals, sheep, goats, solipeds and farmed game, the whole body of a slaughtered animal after bleeding, evisceration and removal of the limbs at the carpus and tarsus, removal of the head, tail and udder and flaying; and,

(b)

in relation to swine, the whole body of a slaughtered animal after bleeding and evisceration, whether or not the limbs at the carpus and tarsus and the head have been removed;

“cold store” means any premises, not forming part of a slaughterhouse, cutting premises, a farmed game processing facility or a farmed game handling facility used for the storage under temperature controlled conditions of fresh meat intended for sale for human consumption;

“contravention”, in relation to any provision of these Regulations, includes a failure to comply with that provision;

“country of destination” means the relevant EEA State to which fresh meat is sent from another relevant EEA State;

“cutting premises” means premises used for the purpose of cutting up fresh meat intended for sale for human consumption;

“cutting up” means—

(a)

cutting fresh meat into cuts smaller than half carcases cut into three wholesale cuts; or

(b)

removing bones from fresh meat;

“the Department” means the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland;

“disinfect” means to apply hygienically satisfactory chemical or physical agents or processes with the intention of eliminating micro-organisms;

“EEA Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area(1) signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol(2) signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993;

“EEA State” means a State which is a Contracting Party to the EEA Agreement;

“examine in detail” means to examine by making multiple deep incisions into lymph nodes;

“farmed game” means wild land mammals which are reared and slaughtered in captivity, excluding—

(a)

mammals of the family Leporidae, and

(b)

wild land mammals living within an enclosed territory under conditions of freedom similar to those enjoyed by wild game;

“farmed game handling facility” means any building, premises or place, other than a slaughterhouse, used for the purpose of slaughtering farmed game, the flesh of which is intended for sale for human consumption;

“farmed game meat” means meat obtained from farmed game;

“farmed game processing facility” means premises, other than a slaughterhouse, used for the purpose of dressing farmed game the flesh of which is intended for sale for human consumption;

“final consumer” means a person who buys fresh meat—

(a)

otherwise than for the purpose of resale;

(b)

for direct transport to, and consumption on, premises either in his ownership or under his personal supervision or in the ownership or under the personal supervision of a person employed by him; or

(c)

for cooking on premises either in his ownership or under his personal supervision or in the ownership or under the personal supervision of a person employed by him for sale as take-away food for consumption off those premises;

“fresh”, as applied to meat, means all meat, including chilled or frozen meat, which has not undergone any preserving process and includes meat vacuum wrapped or wrapped in a controlled atmosphere;

“health mark” means a mark of a kind set out in Schedule 12 and applied in accordance with regulation 11 and that Schedule;

“lairage” means any part of a slaughterhouse used for the confinement of animals awaiting slaughter there;

“licensed”, in relation to any slaughterhouse, cold store, cutting premises, re-packaging centre, farmed game handling facility or farmed game processing facility, means licensed under regulation 4;

“livestock unit” means 1 soliped, 1 adult bovine animal within the meaning of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 805/68(3), 2 other bovine animals, 3 deer, 5 swine of over 100 kg liveweight, 7 other swine, 10 sheep or goats, or 20 lambs, kids or piglets of under 15 kg liveweight;

“low throughput”—

(a)

in relation to a farmed game processing facility, means a throughput of animals whose meat is intended for sale for human consumption of not more than 3,000 farmed deer or 7,000 farmed wild boar carcases each year at a rate not exceeding 60 or 140 each week respectively;

(b)

subject to regulation 4(12) in relation to a slaughterhouse, means a throughput of animals whose meat is intended for sale for human consumption of not more than 1,000 livestock units each year at a rate not exceeding 20 each week;

(c)

in relation to cutting premises means a production of not more than 5 tonnes of fresh meat intended for sale for human consumption each week;

“manure pit” means a pit which is used to collect or contain dry sheep manure and which is situated beneath a self-cleaning open mesh or grating-type floor in a sheep lairage;

“meat” means all parts of animals which are suitable for human consumption;

“Meat Inspector” means a person appointed in accordance with regulation 7(2);

“mechanically recovered meat” means finely comminuted meat obtained by mechanical means from flesh-bearing bones apart from—

(a)

the bones of the head;

(b)

the extremities of the limbs below the carpal and tarsal joints and, in the case of swine, the coccygeal vertebrae,

and intended for establishments approved in accordance with Article 8 or 9 of Council Directive 77/99/EEC(4) on health problems affecting intra-Community trade in meat products, as amended, and includes mechanically separated meat;

“occupier” means a person carrying on the business of a slaughterhouse, cutting premises, a repackaging centre or cold store (either together or separately) or a farmed game processing or farmed game handling facility, or the duly authorised representative of such a person;

“offal” means fresh meat other than that of the carcase, whether or not naturally connected to the carcase;

“the Order” means the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991;

“OVS” means official veterinary surgeon, being a veterinary surgeon designated by the Department under regulation 8;

“OVS room” means a room or rooms, suitable, sufficiently large and adequately equipped, capable of being securely locked, and under the control of an OVS, for the exclusive use of the OVS and Meat Inspector;

“OVS facilities” means suitable and sufficient facilities under the control of the OVS and Meat Inspector;

“packaging”, in relation to fresh meat, means placing wrapped fresh meat into a receptacle;

“potable water” has the same meaning as in the Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995(5);

“premises” means any slaughterhouse, cutting premises, re-packaging centre, cold store, farmed game handling facility or farmed game processing facility;

“registered medical practitioner” means a fully registered person within the meaning of the Medical Act 1983(6);

“relevant EEA State” means an EEA State other than Iceland;

“re-packaging centre” means premises where wrapped meat intended for placing on the market is re-packaged;

“slaughterhall” means that part of a slaughterhouse in which animals are slaughtered or the bodies of slaughtered animals are dressed;

“slaughterhouse” means any building, premises or place (other than a farmed game handling facility) for slaughtering animals, the flesh of which is intended for sale for human consumption, and includes any place available in connection therewith for the confinement of animals while awaiting slaughter there;

“third country” means a country which is not a relevant EEA State;

“veterinary officer” means a veterinary officer of the Department;

“viscera” means offal from the thoracic, abdominal and pelvic cavities, including the trachea and oesophagus;

“wild game”, “wild game meat”, “large wild game” and “small wild game” have the meanings given to them by regulation 2(1) of the Wild Game Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997(7);

“wrapping”, in relation to the protection of fresh meat, means placing in material which comes into direct contact with such meat as well as the material itself.

(2) Nothing in these Regulations shall be construed as derogating from the provisions of the Diseases of Animals (Northern Ireland) Order 1981(8) or of any Order made thereunder.

(3) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(9) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

(1)

O.J. No. L.1, 3.1.94, p.1

(2)

O.J. No. L.1, 3.1.94, p.571

(3)

O.J. No. L.148, 28.6.68, p. 24

(4)

O.J. No. L.126, 31.1.77, p. 85 as amended by Council Directive 92/5/EEC O.J. No. L.57, 2.3.92, p. 8 and 19

(5)

S.R. 1995 No. 360, the relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1997 No. 494, S.R. 1997 No. 495 and S.R. 1997 No. 496

(6)

1983 c. 54

(7)

S.R. 1997 No. 496

(8)

S.I. 1981/1115 (N.I. 22)

(9)

1954 c. 33 (N.I.)