FSA looks to tighten unfit meat rules
30 April 2001
FSA looks to tighten unfit meat rules
By FWi staff
FOOD safety watchdogs is considering ways to ensure that meat which is unfit for human consumption cannot end up on the dinner table.
The Food Standards Agency is looking to tighten up regulations after a series of high-profile cases in which unfit poultry entered the food chain.
Consultation is to begin on proposals could result in poultry being stained with indelible inks, reports the BBC.
At present a legal loophole makes poultry exempt from rules which require condemned meat to be stained
Leading chicken producers have already decided voluntarily to stain meat not intended for the food chain.
Last December a gang was jailed after being convicted of a fraud in which 1000 tonnes of unfit poultry meat was sold for human consumption.
This month Tesco withdrew chicken steaks after it emerged that manufacturers may have unwittingly received meat unfit for human consumption.
The Farmfoods supermarket group has also withdrawn some of its own-brand chicken nuggets,
The FSA says it is unlikely that this would pose a significant health risk, but is working with the Food and Drink Federation to remove such meat.
Manufacturers are advised to check back through their supply chain to ensure that they have not inadvertently received unfit poultry meat.
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