The Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018

Regulation 6(g)

SCHEDULE 7 N.I. SPECIFIED RISK MATERIAL, MECHANICALLY SEPARATED MEAT AND SLAUGHTERING TECHNIQUES

Appointment of the Food Standards Agency as the competent authority N.I.

1.  The Food Standards Agency must carry out the duties F1 ... in point 11(1) and point 11(2) of Annex V in relation to this Schedule and may grant authorisations for the purposes of point 4(3)(a) of that Annex.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in Sch. 7 para. 1 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Animal By-Products and Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/273), regs. 1(1), 4(6)(a); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

Training N.I.

2.  The occupier of any slaughterhouse or cutting plant where specified risk material is removed must—

(a) ensure that staff receive any training necessary to ensure that the occupier complies with their duties under this Schedule; and

(b) keep records of each person's training for as long as that person works there,

failure to comply with paragraph (a) or (b) is an offence.

Mechanically separated meat N.I.

3.—(1) Any person who contravenes point 5 of Annex V (measures concerning mechanically separated meat) is guilty of an offence.

(2) Any person who uses any mechanically separated meat produced in contravention of that point in the preparation of any food for sale for human consumption or of any feedingstuff is guilty of an offence.

Pithing N.I.

4.  Any person who contravenes point 6 of Annex V (measures concerning laceration of tissue) is guilty of an offence.

Tongue harvesting N.I.

5.  Any person who contravenes point 7 of Annex V (harvesting of tongues from bovine animals) is guilty of an offence.

Head meat harvesting N.I.

6.  Any person who contravenes point 8(1) of Annex V (harvesting of bovine head meat) is guilty of an offence.

Removal of specified risk material N.I.

7.—(1) Any person who removes specified risk material at any premises or place other than premises or a place where that specified risk material may be removed under point 4(1) or point 4(3)(a) of Annex V is guilty of an offence.

(2) In the case of a cutting plant, it is an offence to remove—

(a) any part of the vertebral column that is specified risk material from any bovine animal unless the plant is authorised under paragraph 13(1)(a); or

(b) the spinal cord from any ovine or caprine animal aged over 12 months at slaughter or which has a permanent incisor erupted through the gum, unless the plant is authorised for the purpose of such removal under paragraph 13(1)(b).

Bovine animals in a slaughterhouse N.I.

8.—(1) When a bovine animal is slaughtered in a slaughterhouse or the carcase of a bovine animal is transported to a slaughterhouse following emergency slaughter elsewhere, the occupier of the slaughterhouse must remove all specified risk material (other than those parts of the vertebral column that are specified risk material and specified risk material contained in or attached to offal) as soon as is reasonably practicable after slaughter and in any event before post-mortem inspection.

(2) The occupier must—

(a) as soon as reasonably practicable after post mortem inspection, consign any offal that has been removed from the carcase and that contains or is attached to specified risk material to an appropriate area of the slaughterhouse; and

(b) as soon as reasonably practicable after the offal is consigned there and in any event before the offal is removed from the slaughterhouse, remove the specified risk material.

(3) The occupier must as soon as is reasonably practicable after slaughter consign any meat containing those parts of the vertebral column that are specified risk material to—

(a) a cutting plant authorised under paragraph 13(1)(a);

(b) a cutting plant authorised under corresponding legislation elsewhere in the United Kingdom; or

(c) a member State in accordance with point 10(2) of Annex V.

(4) The occupier must identify meat containing vertebral column that is not specified risk material in accordance with point 11(3)(a) of Annex V and provide information in accordance with point 11(3)(b) of that Annex.

(5) No person may include a blue stripe in the label referred to in Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No. 820/97 M1 , except in accordance with point 11(3)(a) of Annex V.

(6) Failure to comply with this paragraph is an offence.

Marginal Citations

M1 O.J. No. L 204, 11.8.2000, p.1, last amended by Regulation (EU) No. 653/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (O.J. No. L189, 27.06.2014, p.33)

Ovine and caprine animals in a slaughterhouse N.I.

9.—(1) When an ovine or caprine animal is slaughtered in a slaughterhouse or the carcase of an ovine or caprine animal is transported to a slaughterhouse following emergency slaughter elsewhere, the occupier of the slaughterhouse must remove all specified risk material (other than the spinal cord and specified risk material contained in or attached to offal) as soon as is reasonably practicable after slaughter and in any event before post-mortem inspection.

(2) The occupier must—

(a) as soon as reasonably practicable after post mortem inspection, consign any offal that has been removed from the carcase and that contains or is attached to specified risk material to an appropriate area of the slaughterhouse; and

(b) as soon as reasonably practicable after the offal is consigned there and in any event before the offal is removed from the slaughterhouse, remove the specified risk material.

(3) In the case of an ovine or caprine animal aged over 12 months at slaughter, or that has a permanent incisor erupted through the gum, the occupier must as soon as is reasonably practicable after slaughter—

(a) remove the spinal cord at the slaughterhouse before the post-mortem inspection; or

(b) send the carcase to—

(i) a cutting plant authorised under paragraph 13(1)(b);

(ii) a cutting plant authorised under corresponding legislation elsewhere in the United Kingdom; or

(iii) in accordance with point 10(1) of Annex V, a cutting plant located in a member State.

(4) In sub-paragraph (3)(b)(iii), “cutting plant” means an establishment—

(a) approved or conditionally approved as such under Article 31(2) of Regulation 882/2004; or

(b) operating as such under Article 4(5) of Regulation 853/2004 pending such approval.

(5) Failure to comply with this paragraph is an offence.

Bovine, ovine and caprine animals, in other places of slaughter N.I.

10.—(1) When a bovine, ovine or caprine animal is slaughtered in a place that, for the purposes of point 4(1)(a) of Annex V, is another place of slaughter, the person carrying out the slaughter must remove all specified risk material, as soon as is reasonably practicable after slaughter.

(2) Failure to comply with this paragraph is an offence.

Young lamb and goat stamps N.I.

11.—(1) A young lamb stamp or a young goat stamp may be applied to an ovine or caprine carcase in a slaughterhouse if the animal does not have a permanent incisor erupted through the gum and any documentation relating to the animal does not indicate that it is aged over 12 months at slaughter.

(2) A young lamb or young goat stamp may be applied by;

(a) an inspector; or

(b) an occupier of a slaughterhouse or a representative authorised by that occupier.

(3) The young lamb or goat stamp must mark the meat with a circular mark 5 centimetres in diameter with the following in capital letters 1 centimetre high—

(a) “VS”; and

(b) in the case of—

(i) an ovine animal, “YL”; or

(ii) a caprine animal, “YG”.

(4) A person must not apply a mark resembling the young lamb or goat stamp.

(5) Subject to sub-paragraph (2) a person must not possess the equipment for applying a young lamb or goat stamp.

(6) A person who contravenes this paragraph is guilty of an offence.

Removal of spinal cord from ovine and caprine animals N.I.

12.—(1) It is an offence to remove the spinal cord or any part of it from an ovine or caprine animal aged over 12 months at slaughter or that had one or more permanent incisors erupted through the gum (other than for the purposes of veterinary or scientific examination) except by—

(a) longitudinally splitting the whole vertebral column; or

(b) removing a longitudinal section of the whole vertebral column including the spinal cord; or

(c) an alternative method approved in accordance with sub paragraph (2)

(2) The Food Standards Agency may approve an alternative method of removal at a specified premises provided that the occupier of that premises demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Agency that—

(a) the method is appropriate to achieve the objectives;

(b) the equipment used to carry out the removal is fully effective; and

(c) the persons using the equipment are properly trained and skilled in its use and maintenance.

Authorisation of cutting plants by the Food Standards Agency N.I.

13.—(1) If the Food Standards Agency is satisfied that the provision of Annex V and this Schedule will be complied with, the Agency may authorise a cutting plant to—

(a) remove those parts of the vertebral column of bovine animals that are specified risk material; or

(b) remove the spinal cord from ovine or caprine animals aged over 12 months at slaughter or which have a permanent incisor erupted through the gum; or

(c) harvest the head meat from bovine animals in accordance with point 9 of Annex V.

(2) Regulations 7, 9, 10 and 11 apply, but all references to the Department must be construed as references to the Food Standards Agency.

Removal of specified risk material at a cutting plant authorised under paragraph 13(1) N.I.

14.  The occupier of a cutting plant authorised under paragraph 13(1) commits an offence if that occupier fails to, as soon as is reasonably practicable after arrival of meat at the plant, and in any event before the meat is removed from the plant, remove from the meat all specified risk material of a kind to which the authorisation relates.

Meat from a member State N.I.

15.  For the purposes of point 10(1) and point 10(2) of Annex V, where carcases containing those parts of the vertebral column of a bovine animal that are specified risk material is brought into Northern Ireland from a member State, the importer must send it directly to a cutting plant authorised under paragraph 13(1)(a), and failure to do so is an offence.

Staining and disposal of specified risk material N.I.

16.—(1) The occupier of any premises where specified risk material is removed commits an offence if that occupier fails to comply with point 3 of Annex V (marking and disposal).

(2) For the purposes of that point—

(a) staining involves treating the material (whether by immersion, spraying or other application) with a blue colouring agent using a solution of such strength that the staining is clearly visible and remains visible after the specified risk material has been chilled or frozen; and

(b) the stain must be applied in such a way that the colouring is and remains clearly visible—

(i) over the whole of the cut surface and the majority of the head in the case of the head of an ovine or caprine animal and

(ii) in the case of all other specified risk material, over the whole surface of the material.

Security of specified risk material N.I.

17.—(1) Pending consignment or disposal from the premises or place where it was removed, the occupier of the premises must ensure that specified risk material is adequately separated from any food, feedingstuff or cosmetic, pharmaceutical or medical product and held in an impervious covered container that is labelled as either—

(a) containing specified risk material; or

(b) Category 1 animal by-products and including the words “For disposal only”.

(2) The occupier of the premises or place must ensure that the container is thoroughly washed as soon as is reasonably practicable each time that it is emptied, and disinfected before use for any other purpose.

(3) Failure to comply with this paragraph is an offence.

Prohibition on the sale, supply or possession for sale or supply of specified risk material for human consumption N.I.

18.  It is an offence to sell, supply or possess for sale or supply—

(a) any specified risk material, or any food containing specified risk material, for human consumption; or

(b) any specified risk material for use in the preparation of any food for human consumption.