I have learnt today that the Food Safety Authority in collaboration with the meat Industry are about to conduct a trial on a new system of meat inspection at freezing works without the assistance of Meat Inspectors.
It is an interesting contradiction and my fear is that industry self regulation is the object of the exercise. Such ideals have proven all too often to be disastrous from international experience. At a time when the meat industry is under extreme pressure at every level from farmer to marketplace the risk is that inadequate inspection leading to any form of contaminated export meat would cripple our meat exports and reputation as a quality food producing nation.
Apparently no details have been made available to the meat inspectors so the assumption is that chain workers will carry out assessment of the health of the carcasses and the Vets will sign off the consignments for export. If you presume no skill is necessary to be a meat inspector we might be ok. But as I know to get the inspections spot on takes training, skill and experience. One mistake identified by our trading buyers and we are doomed.
The question is, does the risk justify the cost savings if any over time?? It is also ironic that in Select Committee today the Food Safety Authority was trying to convince us of the importance of robust systems for food safety under the new Food Bill.
There will be a few hard Questions for them at the next meeting !!!
Ew!
! Without meat inspectors, those munters! 
!
!
They should be stopped!
I cannot believe that they are toying with changing successful health saving regulation. Who is this beign pushed by? The big meat corporates? The first real frak ups will end up endangering our export industry to the tune of billions.
Is this your fear or is industry self regulation part of the former farmers party policy (or acceptable to the members)?
Good idea.. don’t mention the hobbit anymore and Labour’s reaction to the deal.. move along, nothing to see here!
I think meat contamination is a pretty serious issue
Typical that the National apologist has an ideological objection to regulation, even if it protects our primary export sector from market collapse.
I work at the freezing works and worked on the chain and now in the cutting room and this is the first I heard of it!
It won’t be easy thou, meat inspectors have their own union.
“chain workers will carry out assessment of the health of the carcasses and the Vets will sign off the consignments for export” Meat inspectors already work on the chain and the industry is basically self regulated already!
“But as I know to get the inspections spot on takes training, skill and experience. One mistake identified by our trading buyers and we are doomed.”
Well, from what I gather it a few test and your sweet, not much training as you would expect. It good money thou and pretty cruise
Mainly the vets and auditors (both inside and outside) are the ones who actually look at what going on.
Might I add NZ has the highest food safety standards in the world (really it does, it superior to the US and EU standards!)
We are only of the few nations that has a trace and track system right that goes right back to the to the original herd!
Trace and track means we know which farm in comes and which works it was processed in as well!
Trace and track is only good once people in the marketplace start dying. Helpful of course in that situation but hardly ideal either.
You really should get out of the Hobbit cave more often. That was news a month or more ago in the farming mags.
Another policy ‘ sold’ to the highest bidder.
A bit like the regulation of finance companies that the Shipley government watered down to keep the donations flowing. ( They changed the audited accounts from 6 months to 12 months).
Problems wont ‘happen overnight but they will happen’
“Apparently no details have been made available to the meat inspectors so the assumption is …”
Perhaps, just perhaps you should wait until there are details before making wild assumptions.
oh hand on this is red alert …
Who would trust self-regulation by the likes of Talleys et al? I can’t see this happening without an outcry from MAF though… NZ exports of meat would suffer serious damage if containers were compromised in either the EU or America, who both have some pretty stringent fetting processes on imports…
Who would trust Talleys full stop? If they treat their meat like they treat their employees, international public health disasters are in the making.
Kinda makes you queasey, doesn’t it
Look what can happen when shortcuts are taken, this is by Glaxo a major drug manufacturer.
The pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has received a $750 million fine for producing adulterated and unsafe drugs at a plant in Puerto Rico. The settlement covers the faulty manufacture of the drugs Kytril, Bactroban, Paxil CR, and Avadament. Cheryl Eckard, the whistleblower responsible for uncovering the unsafe drug manufacturing, will receive $96 million out of the fine amount.
http://insidesurgery.com/2010/10/glaxo-fined-750-million-adulterated-drug-case/
If one of the big Pharma companies cant be trusted what chance a little old meatworks in NZ.
I don’t recall National being in power when meat insepction services were opened up to the private sector??
@CV
I don’t work for tallys and the union hates them!
@ghostwhowalksnz
Little old meats works is smaller than anything in EU or USA, we done for if we send bad product, really, have you seen what the EU regulators are like!
Aaaah. I see. Every food outfit has a government employee food inspector. A man from the ministry standing behind every Barista. Every waitress has a public service union worker following them about.
That now would be great. Given the Labour Party can be seen as the party of the civil service unions. There would be more people to ensure the other poor workers will pay to support them. Neato.