PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Slaughterhouses: Inspections (10 January 2018)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 20th December 2017 to Question 118904, on Slaughterhouses: Inspections, what constitutes an (a) imminent risk to public health and (b) serious breaches in animal welfare standards.

Asked by:
Kerry McCarthy (Labour)

Chapter 4.1 of the Food Standards Agency Manual for Official Controls includes some examples on what an imminent risk to public health risk and animal welfare, in the definition of critical non-compliance (NC).

Critical (NC): A critical NC is one where the contravention poses an imminent and serious risk to public health (including food safety), animal health and welfare.

Examples (not exhaustive):

- systemic failure of critical aspects of the food business operator practices and procedures for implementing food safety, animal health and welfare regulatory requirements;

- a serious pest infestation;

- intentional falsification of records;

- the same chopping board and knife being used for ready to eat food after being used for raw chicken without being cleaned and sanitised;

- evidence of pest control chemicals such as rat bait in food;

- raw meat juices dripping onto uncovered ready to eat food; and

- repetitive (more than once) major NC for the same practice or circumstance.

Answered by:
Steve Brine (Conservative)
19 January 2018