New Measures Proposed to Harmonise Meat Inspection

The European Food Safety Authority has put forward the first tranche of measures to improve and harmonise meat inspection across the EU.

The study and its recommendations follow concerns that current meat inspection methods do not enable early detection of some major hazards.

The study recommends that incisions in the pork carcase and prodding the carcase during meat inspection could be abolished and calls for the introduction of a comprehensive pork carcase safety assurance framework and the gathering and analysis of more information at herd and abattoir level.

The EFSA study also puts forward recommendations for the safe levels of residues and chemicals on the carcase.

As President Obama in the US has sent the Free Trade Agreements with Colombia, Paraguay and South Korea to the US Congress for ratification there has been a mixed reaction in the industry.

American Meat Institute (AMI) President and CEO J. Patrick Boyle urged swift congressional action on the three trade pacts and highlighted the positive impact full implementation would have on both the meat and poultry industry and the US economy as a whole.

He said that according to a recent impact study conducted in part by AMI, the Korean, Colombian and Panamanian FTAs would also represent the creation of 29,524 new jobs in the US meat and poultry sectors.

AMI was backed by the American Farm Bureau, the National Pork Producers Council and the US Meat Export Federation in wanting a speedy ratification of the agreements.

However, the National Farmers' Union has called on Congress to oppose these pending FTAs.

NFU President Roger Johnson said that other trade agreements have worsened the US trade deficit, because the US does not compete on a level playing field with other nations.

Following the recent scandals in China involving the use of clenbuterol in pig meat production and the arrest of more than 900 people, China has now banned the production, sale and use of clenbuterol tablets.

The tablets are often illegally added to pig feed and the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) said the decision was made after considering the risks and potential danger of the drug's excessive use.

In the EU, European Commission has called on Spain to take action to address deficiencies in the implementation of EU legislation on the welfare of animals at the time of slaughter.

The Commission said that Spain did not fulfil the obligations of the directive on the protection of animals at the time of slaughter or killing, and of the regulation on the verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules.

The Commission is giving Spain two months to comply with its obligations. If Spain fails to fulfil its legal obligations, the Commission may refer the case to the EU Court of Justice.

Following several audits carried out by the Commission's Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) in Spain, continuous severe deficiencies were noted.

Particularly the FVO noticed a persistent ineffective implementation of requirements in relation to restraining and stunning of animals, the equipment used, requirements for inspection, as well as the corrective measures to be taken, and sanctions imposed, where shortcomings are identified.