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

Regulations 4(2)(a)(i), (ii), (iii), (v) and (vi), 7(1)(e) and 12(1)(c)

SCHEDULE 7 Hygiene requirements in relation to Staff, Premises, Equipment and Implements

Part I Requirements Applicable in all Premises

1.  The occupier of any premises shall keep them or cause them to be kept, in such a state of cleanliness and otherwise so conduct them as to prevent the risk of contamination of any fresh meat in the premises or, in the case of any slaughterhouse, of any blood intended for human consumption, and in particular shall—

(a) ensure that subject to paragraph 3 of Schedule 9 and sub-paragraph 2(a) of Schedule 11, the premises and any plant, equipment, machinery or implements contained in them are not used for any purpose which is not properly connected with the preparation and storage of fresh meat, and that instruments for cutting up such meat are used solely for that purpose;

(b) ensure that fresh meat and the base of receptacles which contain, or may at any time contain, such meat do not come into contact with any floors, doors, columns, pillars or any other surfaces of any room;

(c) ensure that fresh meat requiring further examination by a Meat Inspector or OVS or rejected as unfit for human consumption is handled and transported in a manner avoiding contamination of fresh meat which has been declared fit for human consumption;

(d) ensure that fresh meat or blood intended for human consumption does not come into contact with any fresh meat requiring further examination by a Meat Inspector or OVS or rejected as being unfit for human consumption or the inedible by-products of the slaughtering of animals;

(e) ensure that tanks containing water used in the premises are kept fully covered and maintained in a clean state;

(f) where the premises are supplied with water which is only suitable for the purpose of fire fighting or the operation of refrigerators or steam boilers, ensure that any such water is not used for any other purpose;

(g) ensure that all detergents, disinfectants, pesticides and rodenticides used in the premises are of such a kind and are used in such a manner as not to affect the fitness of any fresh meat;

(h) ensure that all equipment and implements which come into contact with fresh meat are kept in a good state of repair and all fixtures, fittings and equipment are kept clean;

(i) ensure that sawdust or any similar substance is not spread on floors;

(j) cause the interior surfaces of any room or other place in which fresh meat or by-products are produced, cut up, handled, stored or packaged, and any room used for the retention of such meat rejected as being unfit for human consumption, to be cleaned and disinfected as often as may be necessary to maintain them at all times in a satisfactory state of cleanliness and in such condition as to prevent the absorption of any blood, refuse, filth or other offensive matter; and ensure that, in any event, the wall and floor surfaces of any room in which fresh meat is produced or cut up shall be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected when such operations are completed for the day;

(k) cause the changing rooms to be kept clean;

(l) ensure that any vehicles referred to in paragraph 1(t) and (u) of Schedule 2, paragraph 1(h) of Schedule 3 and paragraph 1(bb) and (cc) of Part II of Schedule 6 for which he is responsible are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected after use in the place provided for such purpose;

(m) cause every sanitary convenience, and the room in which it is situated to be kept clean and every such sanitary convenience to be maintained in efficient working order and to be provided with an adequate supply of toilet paper held in a suitable fitting;

(n) ensure that all washing facilities are kept clean and in good working order;

(o) cause a clearly legible notice requesting users to wash their hands after using the convenience to be affixed and maintained in a prominent position near every sanitary convenience;

(p) take all reasonable steps to ensure that no waste, whether solid or liquid, is deposited or allowed to accumulate in premises;

(q) ensure that receptacles (other than manure bays or manure pits) which contain blood, manure, garbage, filth or refuse are kept covered with closely fitting covers; and

(r) ensure that rodents, insects and other vermin are systematically destroyed.

2.  —

(1) A person shall not engage in the handling of fresh meat if he is suffering from or suspected of suffering from, or is the carrier of, any disease or condition which may render a person liable to contaminate fresh meat or is wearing a bandage on the hands or forearms other than a waterproof dressing protecting a non-infected wound.

(2) As soon as any person engaged in the handling of fresh meat or blood intended for human consumption becomes aware that he is suffering from, or is the carrier of, such disease or condition he shall forthwith give notice of the fact to the occupier or person in charge of the premises.

3.  Every person engaged in slaughtering animals or working on or handling fresh meat shall—

(a) wear footwear and light coloured overalls or other suitable clothing, including covering for the hair of the head, and, where necessary, the neck, all of which articles shall, unless disposable, be easily cleanable, reserved exclusively for the use of persons slaughtering animals or working on or handling exposed or wrapped fresh meat, clean at the commencement of every working day and renewed during the day as necessary;

(b) keep as clean as may be reasonably practicable by thorough and frequent washing, in such a manner as to avoid any risk of contamination of fresh meat or blood, of all parts of his person or clothing which are liable to come into contact with any fresh meat or blood; and, in particular, shall wash his hands with hot water and soap or other detergent frequently during the working day and each time work is started and resumed and shall wash his hands and arms in such manner immediately after contact with animals or fresh meat which he knows or suspects to be diseased; and shall not use the same disposable towels more than once to dry hands and arms;

(c) keep any open cuts or abrasions on any exposed part of his person covered with a suitable waterproof dressing;

(d) ensure that all equipment and implements which come into contact with fresh meat are cleansed and subsequently disinfected in water at a temperature of not less than +82°C—

(i) prior to commencement of work;

(ii) frequently during the course of each working day;

(iii) immediately after any contact with fresh meat known or suspected to be diseased;

(iv) before re-use after any break in work; and

(v) at the end of each working day; and

(e) before being engaged to slaughter animals or work on or handle unpackaged fresh meat, obtain a medical certificate certifying that there is no objection on public health grounds to such activities and produce every such medical certificate on request to an OVS or to a veterinary officer, and any other person liable to come into contact with any fresh meat shall wear the appropriate clothing and footwear described in sub-paragraph (a).

4.  A person shall not—

(a) urinate, defecate or spit except in a sanitary convenience;

(b) bring into or keep in any part of the premises containing fresh meat any article liable to prejudice the maintenance of hygiene or the proper performance of the functions reserved for that part of the premises;

(c) wipe down any carcase or any offal;

(d) use tobacco (including snuff) in any part of the premises which may contain fresh meat or blood intended for human consumption or while he is handling any such meat or blood;

(e) change his clothes in any part of the premises which may contain fresh meat;

(f) take any fresh meat or blood intended for human consumption, or any item of equipment which might come into contact with such meat or blood, into a room or other place which contains a sanitary convenience; and

(g) bring into, or permit to be brought into or remain in the premises, any creature (other than one of the species referred to in regulation 2 or a working dog); or bring any working dog or permit any such dog to be brought into or remain in any part of any premises used for the production, cutting up, handling or storage of fresh meat or for the storage of blood intended for human consumption.

5.  Every person entering licensed premises shall, before handling any fresh meat or blood intended for human consumption, thoroughly wash all parts of his person that may come into contact with such meat or blood and change into clean clothing and footwear as provided by sub-paragraph 3(a).

Part II Additional Requirements applicable in all Slaughterhouses and Farmed Game Processing Facilities

1.  The occupier of every slaughterhouse and farmed game processing facility shall ensure that—

(a) receptacles provided for holding blood intended for human consumption are clearly identified and used for no other purpose;

(b) any scalding tanks are emptied and washed out as often as is reasonably necessary and thoroughly cleaned at the end of each working day;

(c) pithing rods, if used, must be capable of being cleansed and disinfected and be kept cleansed between use on each animal;

(d) prior to post-mortem inspection carcases or offal do not come into contact with each other and, during chilling, carcases are so hung as to allow air to circulate freely between them at all times;

(e) the lairage is kept clean;

(f) the contents of every receptacle containing blood, and waste and every manure bay are removed from the slaughterhouse or farmed game processing facility as often as may be necessary to prevent a nuisance and in any event at least once in every 2 days and, after the contents have been so removed, the receptacle or bay is thoroughly cleaned before being used again; save that the contents of manure pits may remain in the slaughterhouse more than 2 days provided that the contents are kept dry, the lairages are operated in a hygienic manner and the pits whenever emptied are thoroughly cleaned before being used again;

(g) hides, skins, horns, hooves, swine’s bristles and fat not intended for human consumption are collected and taken away daily unless they are stored in the room or rooms provided for the storage of such products, and by-products of slaughtering not intended for human consumption are removed from the premises as often as may be necessary to prevent a nuisance; and

(h) fresh meat rejected as being unfit for human consumption is removed as soon as possible to the room or receptacle provided for the retention of such meat in a manner which avoids any risk of contamination of fresh meat which is intended for human consumption and such accommodation is kept locked except when it is necessarily opened for the reception and removal of unfit meat or at the request of an OVS or inspector for the purpose of the examination and seizure of such meat.

2.  In a slaughterhouse or farmed game processing facility a person shall not—

(a) when stirring any blood intended for human consumption, permit his hand or other part of his person to come into contact with such blood;

(b) inflate in any manner the carcase or any part whatsoever of any animal intended for human consumption; save that this shall not apply in the case of the slaughter by the Jewish method of animals intended as food for Jewish persons provided that any organs so inflated are not intended for human consumption, and except that mechanical insufflation may be used for the flaying of lambs and kids of a live weight of less than 15 kg, in accordance with hygiene requirements; or

(c) use any equipment that has been used in a knacker’s yard.