10.—(1) When a sheep or goat is slaughtered, the occupier of a slaughterhouse shall remove all specified risk material (other than the spinal cord) as soon as is reasonably practicable after slaughter and in any event before post mortem inspection.
(2) Subject to sub-paragraph (3), in the case of a sheep or goat aged over 12 months at slaughter, or which has a permanent incisor erupted through the gum, the occupier of the slaughterhouse shall as soon as is reasonably practicable after slaughter–
(a)remove the spinal cord at the slaughterhouse before the post mortem inspection; or
(b)send the carcase to a cutting plant authorised under paragraph 13(1)(b) for removal of the spinal cord.
(3) An occupier of a slaughterhouse may, instead of complying without paragraph (2), but only where the Food Standards Agency has entered into a written agreement with the competent authority of another member State, send the carcase to a cutting plant in that member State providing that the dispatch is in accordance with that agreement and with the first paragraph of point 13 of Part A of Annex XI to the Community TSE Regulation, and any notice issued by an inspector under sub-paragraph (5).
(4) In sub paragraph (3), “cutting plant” means premises–
(a)approved or conditionally approved as such by the Competent Authority of the member State to which the meat has been sent under Article 31(2) of Regulation (EC) No. 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council on official controls performed to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules(1); or
(b)operating as such under Article 4(5) of Regulation (EC) No. 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin(2) pending such approval.
(5) An inspector appointed in accordance with paragraph 1(2) of this Schedule may serve a notice to the occupier of a slaughter-house for the proper dispatch of any carcase to a cutting premises in another member State in accordance with this paragraph.
(6) Any person who fails to comply with any requirement of this paragraph commits an offence.
O.J. No. L 165, 30.4.04, p.1. The revised text of Regulation (EC) No. 882/2004 is now set out in Corrigendum (O.J. No. L 191, 28.5.04, p.1).
O.J. No. L 139, 30.4.04, p.55. The revised text of Regulation (EC) No. 853/2004 is now set out in a Corrigendum (O.J. No. L 226, 25.6.04, p.22).