Toxic turkey risk over future of meat inspections, says UNISON

Christmas turkey, pigs-in-blankets and meat stuffing could become health hazards under moves to scrap independent abattoir inspectors employed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), says UNISON today (Friday). More than three in five (62%) people would be less confident their festive meat treats would be safe to eat if this were to happen, according to a survey commissioned by the union. The findings are based on responses from nearly 2,000 (1,847) people quizzed over FSA proposals to increase the number of slaughterhouse inspections by private companies. Inspections are currently carried out by government employed staff. But the FSA is planning to reduce the number of its own inspectors, leading to what UNISON believes will be a fully privatised service in future. UNISON says the FSA proposals could lead to abattoirs effectively approving the safety of their own meat, with fewer independent inspections undertaken by meat hygiene staff and vets from the FSA. Nearly three-quarters of people questioned (74%) said these changes would be a concern. Nearly four in five (79%) said inspections should remain the responsibility of both the government and the FSA. The vast majority (87%) of respondents to the UNISON survey also want external government inspectors to carry on assessing food safety and quality standards for slaughterhouses. Many laws around UK meat inspections are based on European regulations. Despite Brexit, more than half (51%) of those questioned in the UNISON survey wa...
Source: UNISON Health and safety news - Category: Occupational Health Authors: Tags: News Press release local government meat hygiene meat inspection meat inspectors Source Type: news