The Food Standards Agency (FSA) yesterday said it also wants to exempt UK processors from a Commission proposal to allow them to continue the English tradition of ageing meat that is used to produce minced meat.
The consultation on amendments to the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/14) mirror proposed new Commission legislation in relation to minced meat, some types of fresh meat and game meat.
The key amendments to the EU law include allowing slaughterhouses formerly classified as low throughput to be exempted from the requirement to have facilities for detained meat. Such plants would also be exempted from the need to have a place to cleanse and disinfect livestock vehicles.
Another amendment would introduce a format for a special health and identification mark to be used on carcasses of animals subject to emergency slaughter outside a slaughterhouse. The mark would also be used to identify meat derived from such carcasses.
A specific FSA proposal would exempt UK processors from an EU proposal to set a limit on the number of days between slaughter and the mincing of chilled meat.
The FSA said it considers the Commission's proposals are too restrictive and is not based on a risk assessment.
"These prescriptive requirements of the legislation prevent the English tradition of ageing meat that is used to produce minced meat," the FSA stated. "Research commissioned by the UK shows that there is no scientific basis to support these requirements."
The FSA and the European Livestock and Meat Trading Union have raised the issue with the Commission, criticising strict time limits as "overly prescriptive given the legal requirement for food business operators to implement risk based food safety management systems", the regulator stated.
The time limits set out in the EU food hygiene legislation were carried over from the former Council Directive 94/65, the FSA stated. The requirement applied to meat produced for trade between member states and took account of the preference, in some, to eat lightly cooked or raw minced meat.
However, the new legislation would apply the time limit to the production of all minced meat, including that for the national market, the FSA stated.
The only cases where the time limits would not apply are for those businesses that supply the final consumer, butcher's shops, supermarkets and restaurants producing mince on the premises. Minced meat intended for use in foods that are heat treated prior to sale, such as cooked pies, is also exempt.
The Commission is currently reviewing the proposal, the FSA reported. The UK position is that good hygiene practices and HACCP requirements, and requirements on microbiological criteria suffice to ensure food safety.
If the Commission approves the UK's exemption English-style minced meat would be eligible to bear the oval identification hygiene mark and could be traded within all member states, the FSA stated.
Another amendment would provide a legislative framework for the FSA to launch a pilot project at low throughput game processing sites. The study would help determine the value of a post mortem inspection carried out by an official veterinarian over and above hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) controls in place at such operators.
The Commission adopted EU-wide proposals to amend the bloc's hygiene regulations at a meeting on 18 July 2007. The proposals are contained in the form of five Commission regulations.
The new regulations are subject to consultation with the European Parliament. The FSA believes the process is likely to be completed and the measures officially published in November 2007.
The changes are due to enter into force on the seventh day following publication and apply from that same date.
The deadline for comments on the UK changes is 4 January 2008.
