Written question asked by Lord Stanley of Alderley (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 5 July 1999. It was answered by Baroness Hayman (Labour) on Monday, 5 July 1999.

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Hayman, Baroness

Question

Whether local authority food safety law enforcement officers who are dealing with a complaint from a member of the public about unfit meat where the nature or condition of the meat is such that it would be reasonable to assume that the cause of the unfitness was or should have been apparent at the time the carcass was inspected in the slaughterhouse, are empowered to enter the slaughterhouse from which that meat originated in order to check whether the control systems in place were and are adequate, in the context of a due diligence defence being offered by the seller of the meat; and whether they are empowered, in carrying out their investigations, to check the effectiveness of Meat Hygiene Service personnel and their procedures; and whether local authority food safety law enforcement officers are empowered to enter slaughterhouses with a view to checking the standards of meat processing and supervision, in the course of investigations into outbreaks of food poisoning, where there are reasonable suspicions that the sources of contamination may reside in slaughterhouses. [HL 3231;HL 3232].

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Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

603 c70WA; HL 3231;HL 3232

Session

1998-99

Subjects

Complaints Inspections Enforcement Hygiene Meat Standards Slaughterhouses Meat Hygiene Service