Well, what do you know! There's me whingeing about not having a letter printed, and hey presto, there it is. Better late than never, I suppose, but waiting six weeks does take the edge off, don't you think?

More pressing matters. I've just received a second visit from the FSA in respect of re-approval of the abattoir. Why re-approval is needed I'm not too sure! Still, rather a lot of things to brush up on, mainly small items, some structural, but progress is good, and hopefully this matter will resolve itself soon.

What did strike me about the FSA officer dealing with this issue that here was a person who could solve a huge problem that is bedevilling this industry, i.e. the MHS. Bearing in mind that these officers have much previous experience in abattoir operations, have a thorough knowledge of the law, i.e. know the job, and taking into account that the MHS have overblown and overstated their status (watchout for the next viewpoint coming soon - " the MHS - a dangerous dog now becoming a monster"), why can't this FSA officer take over the role of auditing, say once, perhaps twice a year with licensing being done on an annual basis. MHS OVs could then concentrate on one thing and one thing only, i.e. ante mortem inspection. Hygiene to become the total responsibility of the Food Business Operator; the irony here is, of course, we're responsible by law anyway! Meat inspectors will get on with the job of post mortem inspection, and nothing else . Any record keeping legal requirements will be covered by a business's HACCP based system. Genuine risk assessment will stand like a rock if these proposals are ever scrutinised properly.

Any stuctural or premises situations that may crop up can be dealt with relatively quickly, and that by a highly qualified veterinary professional. This would help a business to keep right up to speed.


Let's also say this one more time. No other sector of the food industry is hounded on a daily basis like we are. The lowest risk to the consumer, but easily the most regulated. WHY? I've been asking this this question for 20 years , never had an answer,so I'm not holding my breath!


Don Quixote

Don Quixote