§ Mr. PaiceTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what(a) studies and (b) evaluations have been carried out by his Department into (i) the microbiological standards of the finished product from slaughterhouses and cutting plants and (ii) the scores achieved by those plants under his hygiene assessment system. [30214]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 18 February 1998]: No studies or evaluations have been carried out by the Ministry with the sole objective of measuring the microbiological standards of the finished product from slaughterhouses and cutting plants, against their hygiene Assessment System (HAS) scores. However, as part of a wider MAFF funded research project, Bristol University has published results (Veterinary Record (1996) 139, 587–589, W. R. Hudson, G. C. Mead, M. H. Hinton) of a study which concluded that HAS scores are a useful tool in predicting the ability of an abattoir to produce carcases to sound microbiological status, especially the categories concerned with slaughter and dressing, and personnel and practices.
§ Mr. PaiceTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what microbiological tests are made during the assessment of slaughterhouses and cutting plants under his hygiene assessment system. [30213]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 18 February 1998]: Microbiological testing does not form part of the assessment of slaughterhouses and cutting plants under 825W the Hygiene Assessment System (HAS) whose scores are a general guide to long-term hygiene performance at meat plants.