The MHS have issued details on the changeover in charging as we prepare to move, as I see it subject to agreement, from unit cost charge to an hourly rate. One doesn't need to be a genius to see how this will pan out over the coming months. Although the MHS through their Business Managers are trying to persuade the likes of myself as a Food Business Operator (FBO) that hours are negotiable, human nature being what it is, the MHS will will gradually ratchet up the hours. Wouldn't you?



As it stands, the MHS have deployed at my relatively small plant three full-time officials, one vet and two meat inspectors. The fact that this is a scandelous waste of resources can be discussed at length another time. To be fair, the MHS have told me that this manning situation can be reviewed, the potential downside here being that I fear I will be forced into signing a Business Agreement to bring that into effect.



So, plenty to discuss. But let's assume that manning will stay as it is. Notwithstanding the fact that the vet nowadays does no physical work at all, and that the meat inspectors, through no fault of their own, are not allowed to trim ,wash or do anything other than inspect, the cost of placing these three officials at my abattoir costs between you as the tax payer and me as the FBO nearly FOUR THOUSAND POUNDS PER WEEK.!!

Meat inspectors have the training and indeed do a competent quality -control job in the production of fresh meat destined for our butchers shops, supermarkets, etc. The simple fact is despite the nature of the workings of an abattoir, the production of fresh meat heading down the food chain line is one of very low risk, in public health terms, to the consumer, and one day, that very important truth must come into the debate on the future of meat inspection in this country.

Meanwhile, are their any taxpayers out their who want to question these massive costs to him or her? You're making the biggest contribution by far. Give me as FBO the opportunity and I will prove that with one well trained technical employee, Ican run my business well and satisfy all legal requirements.

The meat trade is never out of the news for long, or so it seems. The pressure group Animal Aid have been in the media spotlight this week, showing pictures, filmed undercover, of three abattoirs, two of which were shown to be, in some cases, not stunning animals properly and not carrying out their duties to the letter of the law. Filming took place ,apparently, over a six-month period, being condensed down into a 10-minute video.
Any abattoir operation, particularly stunning and bleeding of aninals, is an easy target for a pressure group. By its very nature, its an unsightly job not for the faint-hearted, but its a job that someone has to do. Although one should be very careful about commenting on an edited video designed only to show one side of things, some of the scenes portrayed certainly seemed to show a lack of professionalism, and that fact cannot be ignored.
Such an incident as this highlights the no-win situation an abattoir operator finds him or herself in. The law states that the Food Business Operator (FBO) is responsible for any requirement as stated in the law, a point that the Meat Hygiene Service(MHS) have been very quick to make (n0 surprise there.) Fair enough, but the first question every slaughterhouse manager is going to ask is this - What's the vet on site for?! With vets on site for the entire time, they can have no excuse for any animal welfare issue. Again, where were they in a moment of need?

What this episode has cleary shown is that the status quo does not work. It is too easy to pass the buck, to blame someone else. What is the way forward? Perhaps ironically, Animal Aid might well have a workable answer on this issue with the idea that CCTV's should be installed at stunning points that can obviously be monitored. Lots of questions to be dealt with ,of course, but it seems a progressive way forward. Such a thing would be part of a companys own management system, thus the onus would be on the FBO. This could work, but not while the vets are hanging around all day consuming vital financial resources. As long as this continues and the boundaries are blurred, things will not improve.