Poultry Meat, Farmed Game Bird Meat and Rabbit Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations amend the Poultry Meat, Farmed Game Bird Meat and Rabbit Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 (“the Regulations”). The amendments have effect to—

(a) disapply the Regulations in so far as farmers and producers with a limited annual production of birds or rabbits make certain sales, primarily of a retail nature (regulation 2(2) to (4) and (6));

(b) prohibit a person from operating a licensed low throughput slaughterhouse unless he has notified the Food Standards Agency of the number and origin of the birds and rabbits to be slaughtered there (regulation 2(7));

(c) revoke regulation 14(3) (exemption from requirement in respect of transport documentation) and make consequential amendments to regulation 14(1) and (2) (regulation 2(8) and (9));

(d) amend regulation 17(1)(a)(i) (duty of occupier to keep records) to require the occupier of licensed premises to record the origin of meat entering the premises (regulation 2(10));

(e) amend the requirements in paragraph 5 of Part I of Schedule 5 in relation to refrigeration equipment in low throughput slaughterhouses and low throughput cutting premises (regulation 2(11));

(f) correct an error in paragraph 11 of Schedule 8 (regulation 2(14));

(g) amend the requirements in paragraph 1(a) of Schedule 14 in relation to the transport of fresh meat of birds from low throughput slaughterhouses and low throughput cutting premises (regulation 2(16));

(h) make minor textual amendments to the Regulations (regulation 2(5), (12), (13) and (15)).

The amendments made by these Regulations come into operation on 1st February 2002, except for those made by paragraphs (2), (3), (4) and (6) of regulation 2 which come into operation on 1st December 2002.

These Regulations implement in part the provisions of—

(a) Council Directive 91/495/EEC concerning public health and animal health problems affecting the production and placing on the market of rabbit meat and farmed game meat (O.J. No. L268, 24.9.91, p. 41); and

(b) Council Directive 71/118/EEC on health problems affecting the production and placing on the market of fresh poultry meat, a consolidated text of which is annexed to Council Directive 92/116/EEC (O.J. No. L62, 15.3.93, p. 1).

Regulation 3 makes a consequential amendment to the Products of Animal Origin (Import and Export) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998.