Guidance on Mechanically Separated Meat (MSM): Contacts, Approvals and Other information

Contacts

Any enquiries on the guidance should be directed to the FSA’s Meat Hygiene Policy teams using the relevant email address:

• England - meathygiene@food.gov.uk
• Wales - Food.Policy.Wales@food.gov.uk
• Northern Ireland - NIOperationalpolicy@food.gov.uk

Enquiries from local authorities should be escalated in accordance with the established hierarchy approach with FSA.

If an enquiry is regarding how the Guidance applies to specific production processes, please seek advice from your competent authority, an FSA-appointed Official Veterinarian for FSA-approved establishments, or your local authority food safety team for local authority approved/registered establishments.

Approvals and appeals

Should you wish to produce MSM, you will require approval from the FSA or your local authority.

For further information on the approvals process, please refer to the FSA webpage: How to apply for approval of a meat or food establishment.

If your establishment requires approval from the FSA to produce MSM, please apply via the FSA approvals service. If your establishment requires approval from a local authority, please contact your local authority food safety team.

If you do not agree with a decision that the FSA or Competent Authority has made, you can appeal against it:

• How to appeal against a decision made by the FSA
• How to appeal against a decision made by a local authority

Further Information

For more information, including general enquiries and implications for FBOs, see Annex A: MSM Q&A. It is recommended that the Q&A is read in conjunction with the guidance.