Meat Safety Act, 2000 (Act No. 40 of 2000)NoticesEstablishment of the Meat Inspection Scheme15. Scope of Meat Inspection |
A meat inspection service at an abattoir must comply with and include the following:
| (a) | Ante-mortem inspections (where applicable) of all animals presented for slaughter. |
| (b) | The inspection or examination of carcasses, parts thereof, including cut or deboned meat or processed meat products. |
| (c) | The inspection or examination of all incoming and outgoing carcasses, meat or meat products, including products that have been returned to an abattoir. |
| (d) | Provision of secondary meat inspection by a veterinarian. |
| (e) | The approval of fitness for human consumption of the final products to be dispatched. i.e., the approval of the products must extend beyond the meat inspection points and must include the approval at the point of dispatch. |
| (f) | Registered inspectors who may not necessarily be involved in the "on line" meat inspection function, must mainly focus on the verification of compliance to a 'Farm to Fork' and in-house Food Safety Management Systems and must also be involved in exercising control over the inspection or release of products or consignments from such facilities. |
| (g) | In poultry abattoirs, the above mentioned Registered Inspectors will also be responsible for monitoring and assessing the meat inspection efficiencies of the abattoir appointed registered inspectors. |
| (h) | Verification of hygiene management systems. |
| (i) | Sampling of meat, surfaces, water and any other relevant material/object for monitoring of potential hazards. |
| (j) | Subject to the approval of the PEO, the implementation of a hygiene management system at an abattoir may be included under activities to be performed by a meat inspection assignee separate from the meat inspection service only under exceptional circumstances and where alternatives are not available, as may be the case in some low throughput and rural abattoirs. If such approval has been granted, the PEO must continuously monitor the performance of these separate roles by the assignee to ensure that there is no negative impact to the independence and integrity of the meat inspection service. |
| (k) | Monitoring the handling and disposal of condemned material and abattoir waste. |
| (I) | Providing written authorization, in consultation with the NEO/PEO, for the taking and removal of samples for research or training purposes in line with the requirements of the relevant regulations. |
| (m) | Reporting to the PEO/NEO on matters relating to regulatory compliance. This includes, inter alia, reports on meat inspection, abattoir hygiene management, animal health, animal welfare and disease control. The enforcement of the Act and regulations remain the responsibility of the PEO. Frequency of reporting may increase on the basis of the impact of transgression on food safety. |
| (n) | Meat inspection service must be provided under the monitoring of a veterinarian registered by the PEO as a registered inspector. |
A registered inspector must take into consideration the welfare of the animals waiting to be slaughtered, the practical and logistical implications.
The regulatory authority assigned to a meat inspection personnel at an abattoir is limited to:
| (i) | Decision making on fitness of animals for slaughter during ante-mortem inspections |
| (ii) | Decision making on carcasses and offal - Pass, condemn, detain |
| (iii) | Decision making on commencement of slaughtering. Slaughter may only start with the consent of the meat inspection personnel (not abattoir-appointed meat inspection personnel where applicable) |
| (iv) | Suspending the slaughter operation if non compliances warrant such |
| (v) | Controlling the slaughter line speed |
| (vi) | Sampling of products and facilities |
| (vii) | Preparing and submitting official reports and statistics and may be needed by the NEO/PEO |
The services of meat inspection assignees at export approved cutting plants, processing plants and cold stores, and import approved cold stores will be determined by the NEO/PEO as and when necessary