Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilDangos y teitl llawn

During collection and transport, animals must be handled carefully without causing unnecessary distress.

Animals showing symptoms of disease or originating in flocks known to be contaminated with agents of public-health importance may only be transported to the slaughterhouse when permitted by the competent authority.

Crates for delivering animals to the slaughterhouse and modules, where used, must be made of non-corrodible material and be easy to clean and disinfect. Immediately after emptying and, if necessary, before re-use, all equipment used for collecting and delivering live animals must be cleaned, washed and disinfected.

They must have a room or covered space for the reception of the animals and for their inspection before slaughter.

To avoid contaminating meat, they must:

They must have facilities for disinfecting tools with hot water supplied at not less than 82 °C, or an alternative system having an equivalent effect.

The equipment for washing hands used by the staff engaged in handling exposed meat must have taps designed to prevent the spread of contamination.

There must be lockable facilities for the refrigerated storage of detained meat and separate lockable facilities for the storage of meat declared unfit for human consumption.

There must be a separate place with appropriate facilities for the cleaning, washing and disinfection of:

These places and facilities are not compulsory for (b) if officially authorised places and facilities exist nearby.

They must have an adequately equipped lockable facility or, where needed, room for the exclusive use of the veterinary service.

Slaughterhouse operators must follow the instructions of the competent authority to ensure that ante-mortem inspection is carried out under suitable conditions.

Where establishments are approved for the slaughter of different animal species or for the handling of farmed ratites and small wild game, precautions must be taken to prevent cross contamination by separation either in time or in space of the operations carried out on the different species. Separate facilities for the reception and storage of carcases of farmed ratites slaughtered at the farm and for small wild game must be available.

Animals brought into the slaughter room must be slaughtered without undue delay.

Stunning, bleeding, skinning or plucking, evisceration and other dressing must be carried out without undue delay in such a way that contamination of the meat is avoided. In particular, measures must be taken to prevent the spillage of digestive tract contents during evisceration.

Slaughterhouse operators must follow the instructions of the competent authority to ensure that the post-mortem inspection is carried out under suitable conditions, and in particular that slaughtered animals can be inspected properly.

After post-mortem inspection:

After inspection and evisceration, slaughtered animals must be cleaned and chilled to not more than 4 °C as soon as possible, unless the meat is cut while warm.

When carcases are subjected to an immersion chilling process, account must be taken of the following.

Sick or suspect animals, and animals slaughtered in application of disease eradication or control programmes, must not be slaughtered in the establishment except when permitted by the competent authority. In that event, slaughter must be performed under official supervision and steps taken to prevent contamination; the premises must be cleaned and disinfected before being used again.

The work on meat must be organised in such a way as to prevent or minimise contamination. To this end, food business operators must ensure in particular that:

However, meat may be boned and cut prior to reaching the temperature referred to in point 1(b) when the cutting room is on the same site as the slaughter premises, provided that it is transferred to the cutting room either:

[F1As soon as the meat is cut and, where appropriate, packaged, it must be chilled to a temperature of not more than 4 °C.

Meat must attain a temperature of not more than 4 °C before transport, and be maintained at that temperature during transport. However, if the competent authority so authorises, livers for the production of foie gras may be transported at a temperature of more than 4 °C, provided that:

Meat derived from poultry and lagomorphs intended for freezing must be frozen without undue delay.

Exposed meat must be stored and transported separately from packaged meat, unless stored or transported at different times or in such a way that the packaging material and the manner of storage or transport cannot be a source of contamination for the meat.]

The farm must undergo regular veterinary inspection.

The food business operator must inform the competent authority in advance of the date and time of slaughter.

The holding must have facilities for concentrating the birds to allow an ante-mortem inspection of the group to be made.

The holding must have premises suitable for the hygienic slaughter and further handling of the birds.

Animal welfare requirements must be complied with.

The slaughtered birds must be accompanied to the slaughterhouse by a declaration by the food business operator who reared the animal indicating any veterinary products or other treatments administered to the animal, dates of administration and withdrawal periods, and the date and time of slaughter.

The slaughtered animal must be accompanied to the slaughterhouse by a certificate issued by the official veterinarian or approved veterinarian in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 854/2004.

In the case of poultry reared for the production of ‘ foie gras ’ , the uneviscerated birds must be transported immediately and, if necessary, refrigerated to a slaughterhouse or cutting plant. They must be eviscerated within 24 hours of slaughter under the supervision of the competent authority.

Delayed eviscerated poultry obtained at the farm of production may be kept for up to 15 days at a temperature of not more than 4 °C. It must then be eviscerated in a slaughterhouse or in a cutting plant located [F2within the United Kingdom].