Food safety

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Food safety

• by Ron Dwinger
• DG SANCO
• Unit Biological risks (D2)

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Summary

• Involvement of slaughterhouse staff
• Implementing measures
• Transitional arrangements
• Antimicrobial treatment
• Other issues
• Guidance documents

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Food safety legislation

• General Food law Regulation 178/2002
• HACCP requirements (2001/471/EC)
• H 1 - hygiene of foodstuffs
• H 2 - hygiene rules for food of animal origin
• H 3 - official controls (meat inspection)
• H 4 2002/99/EC (animal health)
• H 5 - repealing 17 directives
• Official Feed Food Controls

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Involvement of company staff - 1

• optional for Member States
• on a case by case basis
• CA may not force a company
• only in specific sectors
• CA must inform the Commission

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Involvement of company staff - 2

• slaughterhouse must meet conditions
• only specific tasks (no audit tasks)
• independent from production staff
• under supervision of veterinarian
• training requirements (as for official aux.)
• vet carries out performance tests
• certificate

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Implementing measures

• ? Trichinella testing
• food chain information
• two types of MSM
• microbiological criteria

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Food chain information - 1

• ? contact details (farm, vet.)? identification
  details ? management data ? animal health
  status ? treatments ? additional information
  (disease free farm, slaughter findings, disease
  monitoring, etc.)

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Food chain information - 2

• ? preferably in advance (24 hours)? accompany
  the animals horses, markets, emergency, a.m. at
  farm ? not all information necessary (QA scheme)
  ? OV can permit immediate slaughter ? up to 24
  hr delay for FCI (? separate storage)
• ? transitional arrangements

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Feedback to farmer

• ? observations on live animal (health, welfare,
  clean animals)
• ? observations on dead animal
• slaughter findings
• lung or joint diseases
• tail biting
• injection sites, etc. ? coding suggested
  form suggested

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MSM two types

• I - traditional/hard method high pressure
  (180-250 Bar)
• ? heat treatment ? meat product
• II soft method lower pressure and a Baader
  filter (2-3 mm)
• ? microbiological criteria (as minced meat)
• Ca content lt 0.1 of fresh product
• meat preparation ? heat treatment
• raw material and storage

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two types of MC

• Food safety criteria
• Defines the acceptability of the product/batch
• Applicable to products placed on the market
• Action withdrawal
• Process hygiene criteria
• Indicates the acceptable functioning of the
  production process
• Applicable during the process, not to products
  placed on the market
• Action improvement of production hygiene,
  selection of raw materials

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Food safety criteria Salmonella

• Minced meat and meat preparations
• from poultry (cooked)
• Absence in 10 g until 1/1/2010
• Absence in 25 g thereafter
• n5, c0

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Transitional derogation (Art. 8)

• ? n5, c1
• notify Commission
• labelling
• only for the domestic market
• to be thoroughly cooked

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Process hygiene criteria Salmonella

• Carcases of broilers and turkeys
• gt15 carcases,
• 10 g of neck skin,
• after chilling
• absence in 25 g of pooled sample,
• "rolling window" system (7 out of 50 samples can
  be positive)

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Transitional arrangements - 1

• ? wrapping and packaging 1 year
• marking equipment 4 years
• food with traditional characteristics
  (simplified notification procedure)
• stocks of products produced before 1-1-06
• placing on the national market (art. 4)

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Transitional arrangements - 2

• ? trichinoscopic examination
• Trichinella laboratories
• implementation period for FCI
• 24 hour requirement for FCI
• international certification
• training of slaughterhouse staff

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anti-microbial treatment - 1
Legal base

• not permitted according to current legislation
  (64/433/EEC 71/118/EEC)
• permitted according to Article 3 (2) of
  Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 applicable with
  effect from 1-1-2006

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anti-microbial treatment - 2
Scientific opinions

• SCVPH opinion of 30 October 1998 general
  principles
• SCVPH opinion of 14-15 April 2003 evaluation
  of four substances
• chlorine dioxide, acidified sodium chlorite,
  trisodium phosphate, peroxyacids

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anti-microbial treatment - 3
Principles of draft proposal

• actions at primary production (Regulation (EC)
  No 2160/2003)
• HACCP is a prerequisite
• only for poultry meat
• substances need approval

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anti-microbial treatment - 4
Details

• currently four substances under consideration
  chlorine dioxide, acidified sodium chlorite,
  trisodium phosphate, peroxyacids
• not more than one substance at a time
• rinsing after application is required
• labelling (consumer information)

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anti-microbial treatment - 5
The substances

• chlorine dioxide reaction products?
• acidified sodium chlorite reaction products?
• peroxyacids - data on efficacy are limited
• trisodium phosphate approved as additive

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other issues - 1
Definition of fresh meat

• Meat that has not undergone any preserving
  process other than chilling, freezing or
  quick-freezing, including meat that is
  vacuum-wrapped or wrapped in a controlled
  atmosphere

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other issues - 2

• fresh poultry meat -2ºC and 4ºC
• frozen ,, ,, no higher than -12ºC
• quick-frozen ,, no higher than -18ºC
• sold as fresh or frozen, it must have always
  been kept in the respective state
• no tempering up during transportation

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labelling of country of origin

• For imported unprocessed pre-packed poultry meat
  (on the label)
• For imported unpacked poultry meat (on a sign in
  the shop)
• For preparations and products Directive 2000/13
  - name of product, physical condition, specific
  treatment - if risk of misleading the consumer
  (MS)

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Guidance documents

• Regulation (EC) No 852/2004
• Regulation (EC) No 853/2004
• HACCP flexibility
• community guides
• import requirements
• multi-annual control plans
• auditing

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HACCP for small businesses - 1

• define small business (size, output, type of
  product)
• prerequisite hygiene requirements
• guides to good practice
• generic guides for HACCP
• follow Codex - CAC/RCP 1-1969 (rev. 3-1997)

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HACCP for small businesses - 2
Flexibility for HACCP

• ? hazard analysis
• critical limits
• proportionate monitoring
• corrective and preventive actions
• simplified recording (diary)
• standard processing procedures
• certification
• training

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contact

• E-mail ronald.dwinger_at_cec.eu.int
• telephone [phone]