Country levels of meat hygiene and meat inspection practices

							Country levels of meat hygiene and meat
inspection practices for domestic supply
               and export

                    by


             Dr. Gunter Heinz
   Background: The author has worked as a
    veterinarian and meat technologist for


• German government and EU for veterinary export
  control of meat from Third Countries to Germany
  and the EU.

• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN
  to provide technical assistance in meat technology
  and meat hygiene to developing countries worldwide.
        Content of the presentation
•    Report on meat hygiene and meat
     inspection practices referred to developed
     and developing countries

1.    Existing problems and deficiencies in developing
     countries in Asia with focus on food safety/meat
     inspection.
2.    History of sanitary control by foreign veterinarians
     in meat exporting countries.
3.    New EU food hygiene law and its impact on the
     meat sector.
4.    Meat hygiene issues beyond meat inspection in
     chilled meat exports.
• Generally in developed countries there are
  no substantial differences between meat
  productions for the domestic and the export
  market. It can be assumed that developed countries adhere
  to meat inspection rules and General Hygienic Practice GHP in
  routine slaughtering.


• In contrast, in developing countries, if
  approved for meat exports to demanding
  markets, there are great food safety gaps
  between export and domestic meat
  productions. In many countries domestic meat
  productions are frequently associated with severe food safety
  problems. The standard is particularly low in Asian developing
  countries. However, as the region is making economic
  progress, new slaughterhouse projects with modern and
  hygienic facilities are planned in many places.
Existing problems and deficiencies in the meat
 sector in developing countries with focus on
                  food safety
•    The abattoir sector was neglected in livestock
     sector development programmes.
     Present structure:
1.   Large city abattoirs, most of them old, outdated
     and source of severe contamination and pollution.
2.   Many small to medium public or private abattoirs,
     most of them basic or below acceptable standard,
     catering for the traditional “wet” markets.
3.   Only a few privately owned abattoirs for bovines,
     small ruminants or pigs, which produce for export
     or high-quality local meat markets, can meet
     international hygienic standards.
Large city abattoir
      Outside
Large city abattoir
    Inside (2007 !)
  Small slaughter facilities
                Buffaloes
All photos taken in Asian countries in 2007!
Small slaughter facilities: Cattle
         slaughtering
          Booth slaughtering
Cattle slaughtering
 Floor slaughtering/flaying
Cattle slaughtering
Floor slaughtering/evisceration
           Cattle slaughtering
Carcass cutting at contaminated slaughter place
          Entero-pathogenic E. coli?

• Recent press releases from the US:

• Nov. 2007: Cargill recalls 450 t of beef possibly
  tainted by E. coli
• Oct. 2007: Cargill recalls 380 t of ground beef
• Sept. 2007: Topps recalled 10 000 t beef patties, the
  second largest beef recall in US history
Cattle slaughtering, vertical
   Major part of flaying on the floor
Cattle slaughtering, vertical
  Floor contact to stabilize for splitting
Cattle slaughtering, vertical
Carcass cutting, heavy parts drop on floor
Small slaughter facilities: Pig
        slaughtering
Floor slaughtering with “spreading” of carcass
Pig slaughtering
    Evisceration
Pig slaughtering
     Splitting
Pig slaughtering
Carcass cutting on floor
    By-product handling
Emptying intestines next to meat on floor
Meat transport (2007!)
        These are not old photos!




• All photos were taken in 2007!
       Malpractices in animal welfare
Severing the spinal cord by stabbing into the Foramen atlanto-
                     occipitale (“Puntilla”)
Malpractices in animal welfare
   Blow on the head by using a hammer
Halal slaughtering
Throat cut without stunning
    Unsuitable pig stunning
Home-made stunning tongs without transformer
    Severe shortcomings in traditional
             abattoir sector
• Malpractices in animal welfare, in particular stunning
• Slaughter methods generate high levels of meat
  contamination due to lack of proper facilities and
  careless slaughtering by slaughter personnel
• Meat cutting and boning frequently done in most
  unhygienic ways, e.g. on dirty slaughter floor
• Meat transport in filthy vehicles
• Abattoir effluent treatment inefficient or not existent
• Meat plant cleaning and sanitation deficient
• Meat inspection and sanitary control incomplete or
  mostly not done at all.
        Deficiencies in meat inspection (Asia)
No meat inspection, heads (left) and green offal (right) are disposed of on
                                   floor
         Deficiencies in meat inspection
  Racks for pig inspection but not used (left) / Pig inspection carried out but not
complete (right) = the only abattoir seen in 2007 where meat inspection was done!
Trichinosis control completely unknown in
       Asian developing countries
  (below: Digestive method, could be easily introduced)
  Urgently needed improvements in abattoirs

• Revision of public and private abattoirs and
  withdraw license in facilities which do not meet
  basic hygienic requirements
• Replace booth slaughter systems by line
  slaughtering, except in small operations
• Introduction of functional stunning equipment
• Efficient meat plant cleaning and sanitation
• Methods of abattoir effluent treatment with emphasis
  on biogas digestion
• Enforcement of proper meat inspection, installation
  of suitable inspection facilities and organization of
  meat inspection training
 FAO Regional Meat Inspection Training

• FAO was running in 2001/2002 three regional training
  courses, each course with 20 participants and 4-
  weeks duration organized in Malaysia.
• Approx. 20 Asian developing countries sent
  participants (total of participants approx. 60).
• Participants were supposed to act as trainers in
  meat inspection in their home countries, which
  unfortunately was not always realized.
• Participants in future courses should carefully be
  selected and only accepted if it is secured that they
  will be used as trainers in their home countries.
        Urgently needed: Regional Meat
    Inspection Training for developing Asia
•   No ante- and post-mortem inspection in many abattoirs.
•   Knowledge of veterinarians and vet. assistants in meat
    inspection is low.
•   Most slaughter facilities do not provide suitable installations to
    carry out proper meat inspection.
•   Rendering facilities are needed for the destruction of
    condemned or inedible carcass parts.
•   Japan was engaged in the past in meat inspection training for
    developing Asia. The courses took place in Japan and in
    Japanese language, which required language training.
•   It is recommended that Japan provides funding for regional
    meat inspection training to be organized by JICA or in
    cooperation with UN agencies such as FAO in an advanced
    Asian developing country such as Malaysia. Courses should be
    in English.
National meat inspection training in
       African country 2007
       Proposed establishment of a permanent
 Meat Inspection and Hygiene Training Center
            for developing Asian countries
• For Africa a Regional Meat Inspection and Meat
  Technology Training Center was opened in the
  1980ies in Botswana, funded by Denmark (DANIDA)
• The Training Center was working successfully for
  over one decade with international aid and has later
  been nationalized.
• The success of the Center is still today visible in
  Africa: Quality of meat inspection in Africa better
  than in developing Asia.
• A Center for Regional Meat Inspection and Meat
  Hygiene/Technology Training is urgently needed in
  developing Asia. Japanese inputs would be useful!