IMPMP327  Check food safety management procedures in red meat cutting plants

Overview

This standard is about the skills and knowledge needed for you to check food safety management procedures (FSMP) in red meat cutting plants. Checking in red meat cutting plants is important to the production of a final product that meets organisational and regulatory requirements.

This standard applies to activities in relation to the monitoring of FSMP in red meat cutting plants. You will need to be able to:

  • Check the implementation and the maintenance of the “cold chain”
  • Check in support of Official Veterinary audit
  • Check food safety on the reception, storage, cutting and packing of meat
  • Check the handling and treatment of waste and by-products
  • Detect any non-compliance and offences under the business’ Food Safety Management Procedures and take the appropriate action
  • Check compliance with the current specified risk material regulations relevant to the inspector’s duties in red meat cutting plants

This standard is for you if you work in food supply operations and are involved in checking food safety management procedures in red meat cutting plants.

Performance criteria

You must be able to:

  1. check that the occupier of the premises ensures that in the case of fresh meat from bovine animals obvious nervous and lymphatic tissue is removed and that any nervous and lymphatic tissue removed from the fresh meat of bovine animals is collected in the appropriate receptacles
  2. verify FBO responsibilities regarding TSE legislation
  3. detect any non-compliance and take the appropriate action
  4. monitor and check structural aspects, equipment, products and staff according to food safety
  5. check that correct identification marking materials are being used appropriately as required by regulations
  6. work within the limits of your responsibility, reporting problems to the relevant people

Knowledge and understanding

You need to know and understand

  1. the temperature control requirements of organisational FSMP and monitoring their implementation
  2. methods of checking carcass meat prior to boning and methods of checking final product
  3. the possible contaminants and factors affecting food safety that relate to the cutting, processing and packing of meat
  4. the requirements for the handling, removal and storage of contaminated meat and trimmings, waste and by-products according to organisational FSMP
  5. the requirements for the wrapping and packaging of meat relevant to organisational FSMP
  6. the procedures and requirements involved in the maintenance of separation of different classes of meat according to organisational FSMP
  7. the conditions for the storage despatch and loading of meat relevant to the purpose, the importance and the method of carrying out non-discriminating spot checks on imported consignments of meat at the point of destination
  8. the purpose, the importance and the ways of maintaining the cold-chain throughout reception, processing, storage and despatch of meat, meat products and edible by-products
  9. the purpose and the importance of constant operative checking in the maintenance of food safety standards and reduction of contaminants, bone splinters and blood clots
  10. the need and the method of checking fresh meat from bovine animals to ensure that nervous and lymphatic tissue is removed and collected in the appropriate receptacles
  11. the need and the method of checking to ensure that the spinal cord is removed from meat derived from carcasses according to organisational FSMP
  12. the purpose, the importance and the ways of ensuring that Specified Risk Material (SRM) is not used for human consumption
  13. the procedures and the problems of dealing with imported meat at approved premises cutting plant
  14. the conditions relating to the unloading of meat not yet classified as free of SRM and its disposal
  15. the various methods of health/identification marking meat that enters cutting plants
  16. the appropriate documentation accompanying consignments of meat entering a cutting plant
  17. the organisational FSMP governing the application of the identification mark at cutting plants
  18. the problems associated with identification marking of meat at cutting plants
  19. what constitutes non-compliance under the terms of organisational FSMP
  20. the importance of working within the limits of your responsibility and reporting problems to the relevant people

Keywords: Meat; cutting; food; safety; FSMP; storage