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

1.  In the case of farmed deer the inspection shall include—

(a) visual examination of the head and throat; the submaxillary, and retropharyngeal lymph nodes shall be examined in detail; and where a Meat Inspector or OVS considers it necessary, visual examination and palpation of the tongue, having been freed to permit a detailed visual examination of the mouth and fauces;

(b) visual examination of the trachea and lungs for which purpose palpation of the lungs shall be carried out; the bronchial and mediastinal lymph nodes shall be examined in detail; and where the lungs are intended for human consumption the trachea and the main branches of the bronchi shall be opened lengthwise and the lungs shall be incised in their posterior third at right angles to their main axes;

(c) visual examination of the pericardium and the heart; where a Meat Inspector or OVS considers it necessary the latter shall be incised lengthwise so as to open the ventricles and to cut through the intraventricular septum;

(d) visual examination of the diaphragm;

(e) visual examination and palpation of the liver, the hepatic and pancreatic lymph nodes; the gastric surface of the liver shall be incised to examine the bile ducts;

(f) visual examination of the alimentary tract, the mesentery, the gastric and mesenteric lymph nodes; the gastric and mesenteric lymph nodes shall be palpated and examined in detail;

(g) visual examination and, where a Meat Inspector or OVS considers it necessary, palpation of the spleen;

(h) visual examination of the kidneys and, where a Meat Inspector or OVS considers it necessary, incision of the kidneys and examination in detail of the renal lymph nodes;

(i) visual examination of the pleura and peritoneum;

(j) visual examination of the genital organs except the penis if it has been discarded in accordance with paragraph 1(f)(ii) of Schedule 9;

(k) visual examination of the udder and the supramammary lymph nodes;

(l) visual examination and palpation of the umbilical region and joints of young animals; and, where a Meat Inspector or OVS considers it necessary, the umbilical region shall be incised and the joints shall be opened; and

(m) the feet, if a Meat Inspector or OVS considers it necessary.