What we do in approved premises

Livestock and poultry delivered to abattoirs are all inspected by the MHS before slaughter. Ante mortem inspection is performed by the Official Veterinarian (OV), who will check for any signs of disease, injury, fatigue, stress and mishandling.

Only clean, dry animals may progress to slaughter, ensuring that the risk of contamination of the resulting meat is reduced as far as possible.

The monitoring of the actual slaughter process itself enables the MHS team to ensure that welfare at slaughter is maintained to the highest standards. Checks are made on the positioning of stunning equipment, the effectiveness of the stun, and the efficiency of bleeding, so that the risk of any animal suffering during the process is minimised. The MHS licences slaughterers and enforces legislation relating to animal welfare at slaughter on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the devolved administrations in Wales and Scotland.

Every carcass is inspected to ensure fitness for human consumption. This is largely the responsibility of the teams of Meat Hygiene Inspectors. Each carcass is carefully inspected and accepted, or rejected, as appropriate.

The MHS team is responsible for ensuring that the slaughter and dressing process is conducted by the Food Business Operator (FBO) in accordance with the legislative requirements, and that meat is produced by the FBO with the greatest regard for hygiene. This requires attention to temperature controls, working practices, and the general upkeep (cleaning and maintenance) of the premises.

MHS staff check on the appropriate disposal by the FBO of animal by-products, to ensure that they are stained, stored, and despatched according to the relevant legislation. Animal by-products include parts of the carcase that are not intended for human consumption (such as skin or feathers) or have been rejected as unfit by the MHS team. By-products are categorised broadly according to the degree of risk they could present to human and animal health, and are used or disposed of accordingly. Particular attention is paid to the removal, staining and disposal of Specified Risk Material (SRM) - those parts of cattle and sheep that are most likely to contain BSE infectivity - to ensure that the consumer is fully protected.

The OV is responsible for the application of the Health Mark. This is a stamp that is applied to fresh meat carcases produced in approved premises in accordance with the regulations, under veterinary supervision. It is an internationally-recognised symbol indicating that the meat has been inspected and passed as fit for sale for human consumption.

If meat is not produced in accordance with the relevant regulations, MHS staff take proportionate enforcement action, which may include informal action, serving notices, or making recommendations for prosecution or revocation of approval. When carrying out any enforcement activity the MHS acts in accordance with the MHS Enforcement Policy and the Government's Enforcement Concordat.

The MHS is well placed to facilitate testing and surveillance on behalf of other Government departments and agencies. It conducts this work under formal Service Level Agreements. Work currently being undertaken includes collection of samples for statutory veterinary medicines residue testing, on behalf of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), and the collection of samples for Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) testing, on behalf of Defra.

MHS staff in red meat abattoirs check cattle passports and ear tags to ensure that animals presented for slaughter for human consumption have been correctly identified. Pre-slaughter checks are the responsibility of the FBO. Cattle passports are stamped by MHS staff and sent to the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS), where details of the animal are entered onto the Cattle Tracing System (CTS).