News From : DagangHalal.com (15 Dec 2009)
Halal meat and traceabilty – New supply chain regulations designed to beef up the ‘farm to fork’ traceability of cattle, sheep and goats sent to slaughter will come into force in the UK from the beginning of next year.
Slaughterhouse operators and livestock keepers will be obliged to provide Food Chain Information (FCI) for all cattle sheep and goats from 1 January 2010 under new European Union legislation, the Food Standards Agency said yesterday. The regulation will apply to all those animals sent either directly to slaughter or sold through livestock markets.
The agency cautioned that once the new rules come into force, meat from cattle, sheep or goats without FCI information will not be passed for human consumption, as it urged slaughterhouse operators to prepare for the changes now.
Food Chain Information
FCI is information about the health of the animals being sent for slaughter, and other information relevant to the safety of meat derived from them. It includes data about medicines the animals have been given.
The rules already been progressively applied across other species; poultry in 2006, pigs 2008 and calves and horses this year.
“The new rules are an important part of ‘farm-to-fork’ food safety controls and highlight the food safety responsibilities of livestock keepers in the meat production chain,” said a FSA statement. “The information about slaughter animals that is passed from the farm to the slaughterhouse can be used by operators and Official Veterinarians (OV) to make decisions about processing and inspection procedures.”