Meat hygiene practice - Gracey's Meat Hygiene - page 158

dripping on to the carcase from above brings with it dirt,
bacteria and moulds. The traditional reliance on hot
water sterilisers could be significantly reduced with the
advent of effective alternative sanitising systems with the
equivalent or possibly even greater effect.
Water is also a problem if allowed to pool on the floor
owing to blocked drains or uneven surfaces. Gullies around
the splitting saw frequently become blocked with debris
and, if water accumulates, the carcase may be splashed
with water from the floor. Ineffective or incomplete duct-
ing of waste water from sinks or scald water rinse stations
can also lead to excessive dirty water on the floor.
Another source of water splash can be poorly
positioned hand wash stations or apron washes . This
problem is exaggerated if the water supply does not cut
off immediately the operative steps out of the apron wash
cabinet.
Pressure differences between the workroom and the
outside frequently result in draughts which enter if doors
are left open. The temptation to leave exterior doors
open in temperate climates during the summer is under-
standable but must be resisted since flies, dust and dirt
gain easy access. This is frequently the case when the
doors are adjacent to the waste skips, hide stores and
green offal rooms.
Poorly maintained structure may result in contamina-
tion of the meat from, for example, rust or paint flakes
dropping on to the meat or into trays intended for meat.
Excessive lubrication of overhead moving chains or cogs
is another potential contamination hazard.

and in the ideal situation, movement would occur only
from clean to dirtier parts of the plant. In practice, this is
impossible. To minimise the risk of contamination,
upgrade stations must be provided where washing,
disinfection and, if necessary, a change of outer clothes
can take place. Although the movement about the plant
of general operatives making social visits can generally be
controlled, practical experience has shown that manag-
ers, quality control staff, but most of all engineers and
fitters, can be the greatest problem in this respect.
There is a commonly held misconception among
operatives that protective clothing is to protect them
from getting dirty, rather than to protect the meat from
them. This underlines a basic widespread lack of knowl-
edge of hygiene matters among workers in the food
industry. Current European legislation requires that all
personnel involved in food manufacture receive an
appropriate level of training and supervision.
The operator of the slaughterhouse must establish a
staff training programme enabling workers to understand
and follow the procedures required to implement the
GMP/GHP, prerequisites or sanitary performance stand-
ards and critical control point monitoring, verification
and corrective action where appropriate. Training must
be commensurate with the role of the operative; thus
supervisors and managers will get different training to
a operative eviscerating or the cleaners although there
will always be some common topics. The official veteri-
narian responsible for the establishment will evaluate
the training policy and procedures during the course of
verification.

Vermin and pests
All measures necessary to exclude vermin and pests
from the food-producing factory must be taken. Physical
exclusion begins with a fence around the entire premises
to keep out cats and dogs, and also includes self-closing
external doors and fly-screening on windows. Vermin
and pests which manage to gain entrance must be sys-
tematically destroyed. The operator's arrangements for
detection and elimination must be documented and
effectively implemented by the operator themselves. The
procedures in place should include the nature of any poi-
son bait, the bait points and the frequency of the inspec-
tions. A regular check should be made of all insectocutor
trays and a record kept of the dead fly count. A large fly
count indicates that the insectocutor is working, but
more importantly, that the exclusion practices are not.
The official veterinarian must scrutinise these arrange-
ments at audit.
Plant surrounds must be kept clean and tidy so that
vermin such as rodents, cats and dogs are not attracted
to the site. All external waste bins must be covered; oth-
erwise gulls, starlings and other scavenging birds will be

Equipment and utensils
The equipment used within the slaughter hall is a poten-
tial source of contamination. This includes knives, saws
and hock cutters which come into direct contact with the
meat and so must be regularly cleaned and sterilised.
However, it also involves indirect sources of dirt and
debris such as the moving overhead line itself, from
which oil or grease may drop on to the meat, and the
hide-puller from which faeces may flick on to the
exposed carcase and adjacent carcases.

The slaughter hall environment
Ventilation in the workroom must be sufficient to evacu-
ate steam and to prevent condensation forming on the
ceiling or inner surface of the roof and overhead
structures. A common source of steam emanates from
sterilisers which are allowed to operate in excess of 82°C
and in which no system is incorporated to discharge the
steam. Steam may act as a vector for bacteria and can in
addition condense on the carcases, adding to surface
moisture and assisting bacterial growth. Condensation