Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department takes to ensure that slaughterhouses cease operations after receiving an unsatisfactory audit result.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is responsible for auditing slaughterhouses. When conducting audits at slaughterhouses the FSA will assess that establishments are operating in accordance with its Food Safety Management System, Food Safety Standards and has met the requirements of the Regulations.

During the audits, we will consider the day to day enforcement conducted by the on-site FSA Veterinarian since the last audit. Where it is identified that the food business is not fully meeting these requirements, the Food Business Operator and FSA officials will be informed of the deficiencies identified during the closing meeting immediately after the audit and a formal Non-Compliance Report will be issued with the audit report.

Any slaughterhouse receiving an unsatisfactory audit will be subject to additional follow-up audits and unannounced inspections.

If the performance of the slaughterhouse does not improve and the FSA remains concerned that there is an imminent risk to the public the meat can be detained and the business closed until remedial action is taken to resolve the issue. Similarly, if the business is posing a risk to animal welfare similar measures can be imposed to require the business to remove the risk to welfare before it is permitted to recommence operations.

Ultimately, if the FSA no longer has confidence in the ability of the food business to meet the required standards it may withdraw its approval. The FSA last withdrew the approval of a slaughterhouse in July 2017.