On the farm: identification and health

Identification of animals
Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 July 2000 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 [Official Journal L204, 11.08.2000].

This regulation establishes:

> a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals (Title I) based on the following items:
>>> ear tags for the individual identification of cattle
>>> computerised data bases
>>> passports for animals
>>> individual registers for each farm

> a compulsory labelling system (Title II, Section I) and an optional labelling system for beef (Title II, Section II).

Monitoring foodstuffs and making them safe
Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.
This regulation bans the use of mammal proteins and animal feed containing such proteins in feed for ruminants (with a few exceptions, however, among others milk and dairy products from healthy animals).

Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on official controls performed to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules.
Official controls performed by Member States must enable them to verify and ensure that national and community feed and food law is complied with. To this end, official controls should be carried out regularly, as a rule without prior warning and at any stage in the production, processing or distribution of animal feed or foodstuffs. These controls are defined according to the risks identified, the experience and knowledge acquired during previous controls, the reliability of controls already carried out by operators in the sectors concerned, as well as any suspicion of possible negligence.

Permanent health monitoring
Every stockbreeder monitors the state of health of their herd on a daily basis. At the same time, veterinary action consists in the prevention and treatment of animal diseases.

For some diseases, there are official collective campaigns aimed at their eradication: for instance, systematic screening for contagious diseases such as tuberculosis or brucellosis, or else clinical monitoring of cattle in order to detect any suspected BSE cases. On this subject, see the two following texts:
2003/467/CE: Commission Decision of 23 June 2003 establishing the official tuberculosis, brucellosis, and enzootic-bovine-leukosis-free status of certain Member States and regions of Member States as regards bovine herds. Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.

The latter regulation lays down the measures that should be taken regarding suspect animals (obligation of notification, restrictions on movement applying to the animal and to the farm or farms concerned) and cases of infection (epidemiological investigation, killing and complete destruction of individual bovine animals identified by the investigation, etc). To find out more about BSE…

Moreover, controlling the correct use of veterinary medicinal products ensures that there are no residues present in meat. On this subject, see Council Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90 of 26 June 1990 laying down a Community procedure for the establishment of maximum residue limits of veterinary medicinal products in foodstuffs of animal origin. This regulation classifies active substances used in veterinary medicinal products into four categories according to whether it is necessary or not, in the interests of public health, to set maximum residue limits, and describes the procedures that should be followed in order to alter or add to these categories.

It should also be remembered that Directive 2001/82/EC of 6 November 2001 establishes a Community code relating to veterinary medicinal products. This code comprises all the existing rules affecting production, marketing, distribution and use of veterinary medicinal products.

In abattoirs and cutting rooms: hygiene, control of refrigeration and health inspection

Both in abattoirs and cutting rooms, operators are responsible for applying the regulations in force that affect health and quality. All operations carried out are monitored by officials from the Veterinary inspection service.

Council Directive 91/497/EEC of 29 July 1991 amending and consolidating Directive 64/433/EEC on health problems affecting intra-Community trade in fresh meat to extend it to the production and marketing of fresh meat.
This Directive lays down the health conditions applicable to the production and marketing of fresh meat intended for human consumption, especially from domestic animals (cattle, pigs, sheep and goats), as well as from domestic equines. However, it does not apply to operations carried out in retail stores.

1] Monitoring of the plant
Compliance with the conditions of health accreditation is regularly verified. The facilities and upkeep of the premises and of the equipment should ensure that the carcasses are prepared in good hygiene conditions. The plant manager should verify the effectiveness of work procedures by means of bacteriological self-inspection.

2] Systematic inspection of animals upon arrival at the abattoir
Ante mortem examination of animals makes it possible to ascertain their good health and conditions of transport. Verification of their identification and of the compulsory health documents that accompany them is carried out by the operator, under the control of the Veterinary inspection service. An animal which is ill, poorly identified or without accompanying health documents may not be slaughtered for human consumption.

3] Individual inspection of carcasses
After slaughter, each carcass is subjected to meticulous examination to ensure that the meat is fit for human consumption. This is the post mortem health inspection.

The measures to be taken regarding BSE are described in Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. This regulation describes in particular the monitoring system using the rapid BSE screening test which must be implemented—with in particular a rapid BSE screening test on all bovine animals of more than 30 months which are slaughtered for human consumption—as well as the procedures used to remove SRM (Specific Risk Material). It is the job of the Veterinary inspection service to verify that the removal of SRM has been correctly carried out. As a precautionary measure, SRM is systematically destroyed in order to protect consumers against BSE.

Any carcass recognized as being fit for human consumption is stamped with a health stamp which bears the registration number of the abattoir. It is then immediately placed within a cold room in order to be chilled: chilling meat well ensures that the health, nutritional and organoleptic characteristics of the meat are preserved.

Subsequently, in order to guarantee the health qualities of the meat, any contamination during handling and any proliferation of undesirable micro-organisms must be avoided. The effectiveness of hygiene measures must be verified by means of self-inspection and especially by means of bacteriological examination of the meat.

The good running of cutting rooms, and especially compliance with the cold chain, is monitored by the Veterinary Services.

A health stamp bearing the registration number of the cutting room is affixed to the label of packaged meat. It guarantees compliance with the regulation requirements.

In processing companies

Besides the fresh meat marketing network, meat can also be sent to a processing company which produces foodstuffs that have been processed to a greater or lesser extent ( ready-made meals, frozen foods, canned foods, etc).

Like abattoirs, all these plants are subject to accreditation based on standards of hygiene, facilities, running, etc, based on two Community Directives:
> Council Directive 94/65/EC of 14 December 1994 laying down the requirements for the production and placing on the market of minced meat and meat preparations.
> Council Directive 77/99/EEC of 21 December 1976 on health problems affecting intra-Community trade in meat products. [Official Journal L 26, 31/01/1977].

Since 1996, companies have been responsible for hygiene conditions in their plants. They must define appropriate measures, within their own specific context, in order to meet the health standards laid down by regulations.

This is most frequently done by setting up a programme for the management of any hygiene or health risks which may arise in the company. This programme must be validated by the Veterinary Services before being implemented.

From company to meat counter

1] Storage
Throughout storage and and transport, meat must be kept at a temperature that is sufficiently low to avoid any deterioration of its health quality.

The temperature of cold rooms is permanently checked by industry professionals as well as by the monitoring authorities.

The temperature in transport vehicles may be monitored at any moment, on the road, by the Gendarmerie and the police, who may be assisted by fraud prevention officers or the Veterinary Services.

Meat storage temperatures laid down by regulations:
· ≤ + 7°C for carcasses or large sides of meat;
· ≤ + 4°C for cuts of chilled meat;
· ≤ + 2°C for chilled minced meat;
· ≤ - 18°C for frozen meat.

2] Imports
Meat produced in a third country may only be imported if it meets the same requirements as those laid down in the European Union. For this reason, cutting rooms in third countries are frequently checked by European Commission inspectors (Council Directive 72/462/EEC of 12 December 1972 on health and veterinary inspection problems upon importation of bovine, porcine, ovine and caprine animals, fresh meat and meat-based products from third countries [Official Journal L 302, 31.12.1972]).

In addition, imported meat is inspected by the Veterinary Services at border checkpoints (Council Directive 97/78/EC of 18 December 1997 laying down the principles governing the organisation of veterinary checks on products entering the Community from third countries, and repealing Directive 90/675/CE).

At the meat counter, compliance with temperatures and inspection

The Council Directive 93/43/EEC of 14 June 1993 on the hygiene of foodstuffs lays down the food hygiene rules which must be respected during the distribution, handling; sale or display of foodstuffs.

The companies concerned must also ensure that the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point system (HACCP) is applied. They are encouraged to apply the EN 29 000 suite of European standards (suite of ISO 9000 standards relating to quality and quality assurance systems), thus helping to ensure compliance with general rules of food hygiene and guides to good practice.

Member States encourage the industries concerned to draw up guides to good hygiene practice, which companies can refer to on a voluntary basis. These guides can be used as a guide to good hygiene practice.

In the butcher’s shop, or at the traditional meat counter in hypermarkets and supermarkets, fresh meat should be displayed for sale, protected from any contamination, in a refrigerated display case, in order to preserve its health and organoleptic characteristics.

At self-service counters in hypermarkets and supermarkets, cuts of meat in consumer packages should be displayed in refrigerated counters. The various refrigerated units should be equipped with thermometers ensuring that any breakdown in the cold chain is rapidly detected.

At this stage, regular inspections are carried out in shops by officials of the Veterinary Services, as well as by the fraud prevention authorities. They focus on rules for storage, especially storage temperatures, display, packaging, labelling and compliance with the use-by date. On this subject, see Council Directive 89/397/EEC of 14 June 1989 on the official control of foodstuffs [Official Journal L 186 , 30/06/1989].

Any non-compliant products are systematically withdrawn from sale.

From meat counter to kitchen

1] The cold chain and the role of the consumer
From the abattoir to the kitchen, meat should be permanently kept at a sufficiently low temperature, as laid down by regulations: this is known as the cold chain. However, refrigeration is only effective if it is unbroken, and this is also true for the consumer. Any break in the cold chain will contribute to microbial proliferation, and may lead to the deterioration of the meat.

In order to take full advantage of the cold chain, it is therefore essential that consumers, who are the last link in the chain, keep meat at the right temperature, from the moment it is bought until it is cooked.

2] Some rules for keeping meat in good condition
When buying the meat:
· for pre-packaged meat, make sure there is a health stamp, and note the temperature at which the meat should be kept, as well as the use-by date. ”;
· in butcher’s shops, meat is wrapped up in paper which is specially designed for storing meat;
· remember to take a cool bag for chilled products, and another one for frozen products; · leave the purchase of chilled products until the end of your shopping trip, and return home rapidly, immediately putting meat in the fridge or freezer.

In the kitchen:
· check the temperature inside the fridge and keep it sufficiently low by opening the door as little as possible and making sure that it is properly closed;
· put meat in the coldest part of the fridge (between 0°C and 4°C);
· keep to the use-by date. Meat bought in a butcher’s shop can be kept in the fridge for 3 or 4 days, in the paper it was originally wrapped in. Minced meat prepared for you by the butcher should be consumed more quickly, within 12 hours of purchase;
· in the fridge or freezer, meat should be protected from contamination by other foods by keeping it in its original wrapping, in cling film, etc.