An audit found that the Bulgarian meat control system has been disappointed with the lack of problems recorded during control and limited enforcement.
The audit by DG Sant was done in May and June 2024 to evaluate the control system for slaughter hygiece and meat inspection. Recently, six recommendations were made.
The official control system for the production of red meat and poultry meat includes almost all elements in the European Union law. However, the DG Saint said that effectiveness is seriously compromised due to low levels of non-non-approval and low levels of recording, when problems are found, limited enforcement measures are taken, lack of documents procedures Or there are no instructions and some official functions for the check performing employees. It was done in accordance with the rules of the European Union.
During the tour of the slotterhouse, the audit team found that official controls were not effective and the way they are carried out, there is no stability in them.
There are no instructions for official control in slaughterhouses, on animal welfare controls and on the verification of self-control systems of food businesses, on Antte-Mortem Inspection (AMI). Post mortem inspection (PMI) instructions have not been updated to include the latest changes in the European Union law. The audit team stated that checklists for official veterinarians have not been updated since 2014 and they are often not used during inspection.
Auditors found that authorities did not have enough knowledge of specific legal requirements to perform their duties properly, especially on PMI, dangerous analysis and significant control points (HACCP) systems and safety of animals at the time of slaughter.
Operation suspension
In a slaughterhouse, serious problems were seen with sanitary and maintenance conditions. Official veterinarians and local inspectors said some problems were detected, but the report was not recorded in the report due to oral requests to fix the issues. However, the company did not resolve non-transportation and OVS did not take enforcement action, so the situation remained unchanged.
Auditors damaged the ceiling in floors, walls and ceilings and areas for further processing process, damaged equipment in many parts of the site, dirty chiller with surfaces cannot be appropriately clean or disinfected, floors and The gaps between the exterior doors, suitable insect control in many parts of the plant, and poor hygiene standards are not allowed.
At this establishment, the firm refused to allow access to the audit team and the officials to three closed chilling rooms, of which two were connected to the slaughter area. After breaking the lock on one of these rooms, about 10 tons of frozen meat products were stored in a way, making them disqualified for human consumption. The meat was destroyed and the activities in the plant were temporarily suspended.
In viewed slaughterhouses, the official sample did not reveal any non-transportation microbial results. There was no positive for Salmonella and Campilobacter, which was under control in the poultry slaughter in the last three years.
In response to the findings of the audit report, the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency established a work group to develop a draft manual for demonstration of official control in slaughterhouses.
Online training was planned with all the official veterinarians and service employees in the slaughterhouses and also had practical training on Antte-Mortem and Post mortem inspection.
The agency is also developing a procedure for the company’s self-interaction schemes and an audit of a standard operating process (SOP) to verify the effectiveness of official controls related to food.
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