The Meat Products (Hygiene) Regulations 1994

Regulations 4(1), (4), and (5), and 8(2), (3), (4), 9, 12(1) and (2) and 14(b)

SCHEDULE 2 SPECIAL CONDITIONS

PART I SPECIAL CONDITIONS FOR APPROVAL OF MEAT PRODUCTS PREMISES

1.  In addition to the general requirements laid down in Part I of Schedule 1, meat products premises handling or storing meat products shall have at least:

(a) suitable rooms large enough for the separate storage:

(i) of raw materials under refrigeration; and

(ii) of meat products at ambient temperature or, where appropriate, depending on the nature of the products, under refrigeration;

non-packaged raw materials, meat products and other products of animal origin shall be stored separately from packaged raw materials, meat products and other products of animal origin;

(b) one or more appropriate rooms large enough for the manufacture and wrapping of meat products. Provided these operations constitute a single production cycle complying with the requirements of these Regulations and guaranteeing the safety of the raw materials and finished products, and provided the design and dimensions of the manufacturing room allow, they may be carried out in the same room;

(c) a room or a secure place for the storage of certain ingredients such as food additives;

(d) a room for packaging, unless the conditions laid down for packaging in paragraph 3 of Part V of this Schedule are fulfilled, and for dispatch;

(e) a room for the storage of wrapping and packaging materials;

(f) a room for cleaning equipment and instruments, such as hooks and containers.

2.  Depending on the type of product involved, and subject to the conditions in sub-paragraph (l) below, meat products premises may also be required to provide the following:

(a) a room or — if there is no danger of contamination — an area, where packaging is removed;

(b) a room or — if there is no danger of contamination — an area, for thawing raw materials;

(c) a cutting room;

(d) a room or equipment for drying or maturing;

(e) a room or equipment for smoking;

(f) a room for desalting, soaking and any other treatment, particularly of natural guts, where these raw materials have not undergone such operations in the establishment of origin;

(g) a room for the prior cleaning of the raw materials needed to prepare meat products;

(h) a room for salting, if necessary with air-conditioning facilities to maintain the temperature provided for in paragraph 4 of Part II of this Schedule;

(i) a room for the prior cleaning, if necessary, of meat products to be sliced or cut and wrapped;

(j) a room, if necessary with air-conditioning facilities, for slicing or cutting and packaging of meat products intended for sale in pre-packed form;

(k) the specific rooms provided for in Schedule 5, where the products referred to therein are manufactured in the meat products premises referred to in this Part of this Schedule;

(l) where the conditions laid down in paragraph 1(b) of this Part of this Schedule are met, some of these operations may be carried out in the same room, providing this is acceptable to the enforcement authority.

Where the conditions laid down in paragraph 1(b) are note met, operations which might constitute a health risk in the case of certain products manufactured simultaneously and operations associated with excessive heat production shall be carried out in a separate room.

PART II SEPCIAL CONDITIONS OF HYGIENE FOR PREMISES PREPARING MEAT PRODUCTS

1.  Rooms used for storing or working on foodstuffs other than meat or meat products, liable to form part of the composition of meat products, shall be subject to the general rules on hygiene laid down in these Regulations.

2.  Raw materials and the ingredients forming part of the composition of meat products as well as the products themselves and products of animal origin and their containers shall not come into direct contact with the ground and shall be handled and stored under conditions which preclude any risk of contamination. Care shall be taken to ensure that there is no contact between raw materials and finished products.

3.  The use of wood is permitted in rooms in which meat products are smoked, cured, matured, pickled, stored or dispatched, when essential for technological reasons, provided there is no risk of the products being contaminated. Wooden pallets may be brought into those rooms but solely for transporting packaged meat or meat products and for no other purposes. In addition, the use of galvanised metals may be authorised for the drying of hams and sausages, provided that they are not corroded and do not come into contact with the meat products.

4.  The temperature in rooms or parts of rooms where work on meat, minced meat used as a raw material, meat products and meat preparations is carried out shall ensure hygienic production.

5.  Subject to paragraphs 6 and 7 below, where necessary during cutting, slicing and curing operations rooms for cutting and curing shall be kept at a temperature not exceeding 12°C.

6.  Paragraph 5 above does not apply to non-industrial meat products premises.

7.  The enforcement authority may grant a derogation from the requirement of paragraph 5 above where the authority considers such a derogation justified in the light of the technology used in manufacturing the meat products.

PART III REQUIREMENTS FOR RAW MATERIALS TO BE USED FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF MEAT PRODUCTS

1.—(1) Subject to paragraph (3) below, meat which is to be used for the manufacture of meat products shall comply with the requirements of these Regulations and—

(a) must be fit for human consumption;

(b) must have come from an establishment approved in accordance with the meat Directives and must comply with those Directives and with any applicable Regulations;

(c) must have been transported in accordance with satisfactory hygiene conditions specified in the particular Directive applicable to that type of meat or in any applicable Regulations;

(d) must from the time of its arrival in the meat products premises until the time of its use, have been kept in accordance with the requirements of the meat Directives and any applicable Regulations; and

(e) must not include any of the prohibited parts.

(2) If meat which is to be used for the manufacture of meat products is of a description required to bear an EC health mark, it must bear that health mark.

(3) Until 31st December 1995—

(a) meat obtained from premises granted derogations under Directive 91/498/EEC(1) —

(i) may be held in approved meat products premises only if it is stored separately from meat marked with an EC health mark; and

(ii) may be used in the same place or at the same time as meat bearing an EC health mark but only in accordance with a written authorisation under regulation 18; and

(b) meat products obtained from such meat shall not bear the British EC health mark.

2.  Meat products which are to be used as a raw material must comply with the requirements of these Regulations. Meat products imported in accordance with Directives 72/462/EEC(2) and 90/675/EEC(3) may be used as a raw material in the manufacture of meat products.

3.  Minced meat and meat preparations intended to be used in the production of meat products, unless produced in the manufacturing room referred to in paragraph 1(b) of Part I of this Schedule must—

(a) have come from premises approved in accordance with Directive 88/657/EEC(4) and have been transported under satisfactory health conditions in accordance with that Directive, and from the time of their arrival in the meat products premises until the time of their use have been kept in accordance with the requirements of that Directive; or

(b) have come from premises registered under the Food Premises (Registration) Regulations 1991(5), in which case the meat products produced shall not be marked with the British EC health mark.

4.  This Part of this Schedule is without prejudice—

(a) to the Bovine Offal Regulations; and

(b) to the Meat Products etc. Regulations.

PART IV SUPERVISION OF PRODUCTION

1.  Establishments shall be subject to supervision by an authorised officer of the enforcement authority, who shall ensure that the requirements of these Regulations are met and in particular:

(a) check:

(i) the cleanliness of the establishments and equipment and staff hygiene;

(ii) the efficacy of the checks carried out by the occupier in accordance with regulation 13;

(iii) if appropriate, the microbiological and hygienic condition of the products of animal origin;

(iv) the efficacy of the treatment of the meat products;

(v) the hermetically sealed containers by means of random sampling;

(vi) the appropriate health marking of the meat products and identification of products declared unfit for human consumption and what is done with the latter;

(vii) the storage and transport conditions;

(b) if appropriate take samples required for laboratory tests;

(c) make any other checks considered necessary to ensure compliance with these Regulations;

(d) if appropriate establish whether a meat product has been made from meat in which other foodstuffs, additives or condiments have been incorporated, by submitting it to an appropriate examination and establishing whether it complies with the production criteria laid down by the producer and especially whether the composition of the product truly corresponds to the information on the label, in particular where the sales description referred to in paragraph 4 of Part V of this Schedule is used.

2.  The authorised officer shall have free access at all reasonable times to the cold stores and ambient stores and to all working establishments, to check that these provisions are being strictly complied with.

PART V WRAPPING, PACKAGING AND LABELLING

1.  Wrapping, packaging and labelling shall take place under satisfactory hygiene conditions in rooms provided for that purpose.

Without prejudice of Council Directive 89/109/EEC(6) on the approximation of the laws of the member States relating to materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs, wrapping and packaging shall comply with the rules of hygiene laid down in these Regulations, and be strong enough to protect the meat products effectively.

2.  Wrapping and packaging may not be re-used for meat products, with the exception of certain special types of containers (“reusable containers”) such as earthenware, glass or plastic containers which may be re-used after thorough cleaning and disinfecting.

3.  Manufacture of meat products and packaging operations may take place in the same room where reusable containers are used.

4.  They may also take place in the same room if—

(a) the room shall be sufficiently large and so equipped that the hygiene of the operations is not compromised;

(b) where appropriate, the packaging and wrapping shall be enclosed in a sealed protective cover immediately after manufacture; this cover shall be protected from damage during transport to the meat products premises and stored under hygienic conditions in a room intended for that purpose;

(c) the rooms for storing the packaging material shall be free from amounts of dust which could constitute an unacceptable risk of contamination of the products and from vermin and have no atmospheric connection with rooms containing substances which might contaminate meat, minced meat, meat preparations or meat products. Packaging shall not be placed directly on the floor;

(d) packaging shall be assembled under hygienic conditions before being brought into the room; this requirement need not be complied with where the enforcement authority is satisfied that there is no risk of contamination of the meat products;

(e) packaging shall be brought to the room under hygienic conditions and used without delay. Where there is a risk of contamination it may not be handled by staff handling unwrapped meat, minced meat, meat preparations or meat products;

(f) immediately after packaging, the meat products shall be placed in the storage rooms provided for the purpose.

5.  The species of meat used in the manufacture of the product shall be visible and legibly displayed on the wrapping or on the label of meat products, unless indicated by the sales description of the product or in the list of ingredients.

6.  If the product is contained in packaging not intended for the final consumer, the date of preparation shall be visibly and legibly displayed on the packaging or otherwise clearly indicated.

PART VI HEALTH WORK

Descriptions of health mark

1.  The British EC health mark shall consist of an oval mark containing in legible form and in printed capital letters the following information—

(a) in the upper part, the letters “UK” followed by the meat products premises code and in the lower part the letters “EEC”; or

(b) in the upper part the words “United Kingdom”, in the centre, the meat products premises code and in the lower part, the letters “EEC”.

2.  The British national health mark shall consist of an oval surround containing in legible form and in printed capital letters the following information—

(a) in the upper part, the letters “UK” followed by the meat products premises code and in the lower part the letters “GB”; or

(b) in the upper part, the words “United Kingdom”, in the centre the meat products premises code and in the lower part the letters “GB”.

3.  In the case of meat products from premises approved under regulation 4(4)(a)(ii), the British EC health mark or British national health mark (in addition to complying with paragraph 1 or 2 above) shall include the figure 8 and a hyphen, which shall precede the number which forms part of the premises approval code.

Other provisions

4.  Subject to paragraph 6 below, meat products shall carry the British EC health mark or British national health mark in an easily visible place. Marking shall be carried out during or immediately after manufacture in the meat products premises or wrapping in a re-wrapping centre. The mark shall be legible, indelible and its characters easily distinguishable. The mark may be applied to the product or to the wrapping, if the meat product is individually wrapped, or to a label affixed to the wrapping in accordance with paragraph 7 below.

5.  Subject to paragraph 6 below, where meat products marked in accordance with paragraph 4 are subsequently placed in a packaging, the health mark shall also be applied to the packaging. Where a meat product is individually wrapped and packaged, it shall be sufficient for the mark to be applied to the packaging.

6.  The health marking of meat products in palletised consignments intended for further processing or wrapping in approved premises is not necessary provided that:

(a) the consignments containing the meat products bear the health mark on the external surface;

(b) the recipient premises maintain a separate record of the quantities, type and origin of meat products received in accordance with this paragraph;

(c) the destination and intended use of meat products are clearly indicated on the external surface of the outer packaging except when this is transparent.

However, where a consignment of wrapped products is contained in a transparent packaging, it is not necessary to health mark the packaging as long as the British EC health mark or British national health mark on the wrapped products is clearly visible through the packaging.

7.  The British EC health mark or British national health mark may be applied to the product, wrapping or packaging by an ink stamp or by branding, or it may be printed on or applied to a label. If it is applied to the packaging, the mark shall be destroyed when the package is opened. Non-destruction of the mark is permissible only when the packaging is destroyed by being opened.

8.  The mark may also be on an irremovable plate of resistant material complying with the hygiene requirements laid down in these Regulations.

PART VII STORAGE AND TRANSPORT

1.  In meat products premises meat products shall be stored in the rooms provided for in paragraph 1(a) of Part I of Schedule 2.

2.  Meat products shall be despatched in such a way that they are protected during transportation from anything which might contaminate or adversely affect them. For this purpose account shall be taken of the length of the journey, the means of transport employed and the weather conditions.

3.  Meat products shall, if the product so requires, be transported in vehicles equipped to ensure that they can be transported at the required temperatures and in particular that the temperature indicated in accordance with regulation 11 is not exceeded.

PART VIII SPECIAL CONDITIONS FOR PASTEURISED OR STERLIISED MEAT PRODUCTS IN CANS AND OTHER HERMETICALLY SEALED CONTAINERS

The conditions in this Part of this Schedule must be satisfied in relation to meat products premises manufacturing pasteurised or sterilised meat products in hermetically sealed containers, in addition to the general conditions laid down in Schedule 1.

A1.  Such premises shall have—

(a) a device for conveying empty cans hygienically to the work room;

(b) equipment enabling cans to be thoroughly cleaned immediately before filling;

(c) equipment for washing containers in potable water hot enough to remove grease after they have been hermetically sealed and before retorting;

(d) a suitable room, area or installation for cooling and drying containers after heat treatment;

(e) facilities for the incubation of samples taken from meat products packed in containers;

(f) adequate facilities for checking whether cans are hermetically sealed and undamaged.

2.  The occupier of such premises shall ensure that—

(a) containers are removed from the heating equipment at a sufficiently high temperature to ensure rapid evaporation of moisture and are not touched by hand until completely dry;

(b) containers in which gas appears to be present undergo a further examination;

(c) the thermometers of heating equipment are checked against calibrated thermometers;

(d) containers are:

(i) rejected if damaged or badly made;

(ii) rejected or cleaned if they are dirty and thoroughly cleaned immediately before filling, by means of the cleaning equipment referred to in sub-paragraph 1(b) above; the use of static water is not permitted;

(iii) if necessary, drained for a sufficiently long time after cleaning and before filling;

(iv) if necessary, washed in potable water, sufficiently hot to remove grease if appropriate, after they have been hermetically sealed and before retorting, by means of the equipment referred to in sub-paragraph 1(c) above;

(v) cooled, after heating, in water meeting the requirements in sub-paragraph (e) of B below;

(vi) handled, before and after heat treatment, in such a way that any damage or contamination is avoided.

B.  The occupier of meat products premises manufacturing meat products in hermetically sealed containers shall also check by sampling that—

(a) either—

(i) a process is applied to meat products intended for storing at ambient temperature which results in an Fo value equal to or exceeding 3.0 unless the equivalent stability has been obtained by the combined use of heat and curing salts; or

(ii) that a heat treatment procedure is applied which is at least equivalent to pasteurisation, the parameters being approved by the enforcement authority;

(b) empty containers meet production standards;

(c) checks on the daily output are carried out at intervals determined in advance, to ensure the efficacy of the sealing. To this end, suitable equipment shall be available for examining perpendicular sections of the seams or torn down seams of the sealed cans;

(d) the necessary checks are carried out to ensure that the containers have undergone an adequate heat treatment, using in particular control markers (where appropriate) to indicate that heat treatment has been applied;

(e) the necessary checks are carried out to ensure that the cooling water contains a residual level of chlorine after use unless the enforcement authority is satisfied that the water fulfils the requirements of Directive 80/778/EEC(7);

(f) incubation tests acceptable to the enforcement authority are carried out on preserved meat products in containers which have undergone heat treatment;

(g) pasteurised products in containers satisfy criteria acceptable to the enforcement authority.

C.—(1) The enforcement authority may accept the addition of certain substances to the water used in retorts in order to prevent corrosion of cans and to soften and disinfect the water.

(2) The enforcement authority may allow the use of recirculated water for cooling heat-processed containers. Such water shall be purified and have either been treated with chlorine or undergone some other approved treatment.

(3) The recirculated water shall circulate in closed circuit so that it cannot be used for other purposes. However, where there is no risk of contamination, the water used for cooling containers and water from retorts may be used at the end of a working period for cleaning floors.

PART IX SPECIAL CONDITIONS FOR MEAT-BASED PREPARED MEALS

In addition to the general conditions in Schedule 1 and in Parts I, II and III of this Schedule—

1.  meat products premises manufacturing prepared meals shall have a separate room for the preparation and wrapping of prepared meals or, if there is no risk of contamination, a separate area; a separate room is not required where meat products and meat are handled at separate times, provided the rooms used for these operations are cleaned and disinfected between use for each type of product;

2.—(a) the meat product contained in the prepared meal shall, as soon as it has been cooked:

(i) either be immediately mixed with the other ingredients; in that event the time during which the temperature of the meat product is between 10°C and 63°C shall be kept to a minimum;

(ii) or be refrigerated to 10°C or less before being mixed with the other ingredients;

(b) the meat product and the prepared meal shall be refrigerated to an internal temperature of +10°C or less within a period of not more than two hours after the end of cooking and to the storage temperature as soon as possible. Meat products premises need not comply with the two-hour period where a longer period is justified for reasons connected with the production technology employed, provided that the safety of the end product is guaranteed and it is acceptable to the enforcement authority;

(c) the prepared meal shall, where appropriate, be frozen or quick-frozen immediately after cooling;

3.  the results of the various checks to be carried out by the operator or manager shall be kept, so that they can be shown on receipt of any request from the enforcement authority, for a minimum period according to the durability of the product concerned.

(1)

OJ No. L268, 24.9.91, p.105.

(2)

OJ No. L302, 30.12.72, p.28.

(3)

OJ No. L373, 31.12.90, p.1.

(4)

OJ No. L382, 31.12.88, p.3.

(5)

S.I. 1991/2825; amended by S.I. 1992/2037, 1993/2022, 1994/1029.

(6)

OJ No. L40, 11.2.89, p.38.

(7)

OJ No. L229, 30.8.80, p.11.