Dispatch of fresh meat, minced meat and meat preparations E+W

5.—(1) No person shall dispatch any fresh meat of animals of the bovine, ovine, caprine or porcine species or other biungulate coming from the restricted area or obtained from animals originating in that area.

(2) In paragraph (1), the reference to “fresh meat" includes minced meat and meat preparations to which Council Directive 94/65/EC (laying down the requirements for the production and placing on the market of minced meat and meat preparations M1 ) applies.

(3) The prohibition in paragraph (1) shall not apply in relation to—

(a) fresh meat, minced meat or meat preparations obtained before 1st February 2001, provided that the meat, minced meat or meat preparation is clearly identified and since that date has been transported and stored separately from meat, minced meat or meat preparations which is not destined for dispatch; or

(b) fresh meat obtained from approved cutting plants under the following conditions—

(i) the only meat processed in the establishment on the day of processing of meat destined for dispatch is fresh meat described in sub-paragraph (a), fresh meat from animals reared and slaughtered outside the restricted area, or fresh meat obtained from animals reared and slaughtered within the areas listed in the Schedule;

(ii) cleansing and disinfection must be carried out after processing any meat not meeting this requirement;

(iii) all the meat must bear the health mark in accordance with Chapter XI of Annex I to Council Directive 64/433/EEC (on health problems affecting the productions and marketing of meat products and certain other products of animal origin M2 ) or, in the case of meat from biungulates to which that Directive does not apply, the health mark provided for in Chapter III of Annex I to Council Directive 91/495/EEC (concerning public health and animal health problems affecting the production and placing on the market of rabbit meat and farmed game meat M3 );

(iv) the cutting plant must be operated under strict veterinary control; and

(v) the meat must be clearly identified, transported and stored separately from meat, minced meat and meat preparations which is not destined for dispatch;

(c) minced meat and meat preparations obtained from establishments approved under the Minced Meat and Meat Preparations (Hygiene) Regulations 1995 and also approved under these Regulations under the following conditions—

(i) the only meat processed in the establishment on the day of processing of meat destined for dispatch is fresh meat described in sub-paragraph (a), fresh meat from animals reared and slaughtered outside the restricted area or fresh meat obtained from animals reared and slaughtered within the areas listed in the Schedule;

(ii) cleansing and disinfection must be carried out after processing any meat not meeting this requirement;

(iii) all the minced meat and meat preparations must bear the health mark in accordance with Chapter VI of Annex I to Council Directive 94/65/EC;

(iv) the plant must be operated under strict veterinary control; and

(v) the minced meat and meat preparations must be clearly identified and transported and stored separately from meat, minced meat and meat preparations which are not destined for dispatch;

(d) fresh meat, minced meat or meat preparations obtained from porcine animals reared within the areas listed in the Schedule and conforming to the following conditions—

(i) there has been no outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the group of counties listed in the Schedule during the 90 days prior to dispatch;

(ii) during the 30 days prior to transport to the slaughterhouse the animals have remained subject to the supervision of the relevant competent authority on a single holding situated within the areas listed in the Schedule in the centre of a circle around the holding of at least 10 km radius where there has been no outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease during at least the past 30 days;

(iii) no animal of species susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease has been introduced into the holding referred to in sub-paragraph (d)(ii) above during the past 30 days prior to loading, except in the case of pigs coming from a supplying holding which meets the requirements laid down in that sub-paragraph, in which case this period shall be 7 days;

(iv) the animals must be transported under licence in writing granted by an officer of the local authority where the holding is situated, directly from the holding to an approved slaughterhouse situated in a county in England listed in the Schedule;

(v) the means of transport must be cleansed and disinfected before the animals are loaded;

(vi) before it leaves the holding, the means of transport must be sealed by a person authorized in writing by the Secretary of State, and the number of the seal recorded on the movement licence;

(vii) the person consigning the animals to the slaughterhouse must give at least 72 hours written notice to the official veterinary surgeon at the slaughterhouse that pigs the meat of which intended for dispatch under this paragraph will be sent to the slaughterhouse;

(viii) the official veterinary surgeon must ensure that the seal is intact and correctly numbered when the means of transport arrives at the slaughterhouse;

(ix) the animals must be slaughtered within 24 hours of arrival at the slaughterhouse separately from animals whose meat is not eligible for dispatch;

(x) during inspection by the official veterinary surgeon at the slaughterhouse no evidence of clinical or post-mortem signs of foot-and-mouth disease were established;

(xi) the meat derived from such animals remained in the slaughterhouse for at least 24 hours after slaughter;

(xii) all fresh meat must bear the health mark in accordance with Chapter XI of Annex I to Council Directive 64/433/EEC;

(xiii) the slaughterhouse must be operated under strict veterinary control;

(xiv) in the case where foot-and-mouth disease has been diagnosed in the slaughterhouse, any further preparation of meat for dispatch shall only be authorized after the slaughter of all animals present, removal of all meat and dead animals and not earlier than 24 hours after the completion of the total cleaning and disinfection of the establishment under the control of a veterinary inspector;

(xv) the fresh meat must be clearly identified, and transported and stored separately from meat which is not eligible for dispatch;

(xvi) where the meat is subject to further processing this must be done in a plant approved under sub-paragraph (b) or (c) of this paragraph and in accordance with those sub-paragraphs.

(4) Meat, minced meat or meat preparations consigned to another member State shall be accompanied by an official certificate prepared by the Secretary of State or the Minister and signed by a person appointed as an officer of the kind specified in the certificate which bears the following words—

“Meat conforming to Commission Decision 2001/172/EC of 1st March 2001 concerning certain protection measures with regard to foot-and-mouth disease in the United Kingdom”.

Marginal Citations

M1 OJ No. L368, 31.12.94, p. 10.

M2 OJ No. 121, 27.9.1964, p. 2012/64; Directive updated by Directive 91/497/EEC (OJ No. L268, 24.9.1991, p. 69) as last amended by Directive 95/23/EC (OJ No. L243, 11.10.1995, p. 7).

M3 OJ No. L268, 24.09.1991, p. 41 as last amended by Council Directive 1994/65/EC (OJ No. L368, 31.12.1994, p. 10).