§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the pithing ban. [211]
§ Yvette Cooper[holding answer 25 June 2001]I am advised by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) that the ban on pithing came into force on 1 April 2001 in Great Britain and on 11 June 2001 in Northern Ireland, where pithing has not been practiced for some years.
The ban is enforced in Great Britain by the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS). The FSA has asked the MHS to monitor compliance with the ban and to report any potential closure of abattoirs arising from it. The MHS reports that, as at 11 June 2001, only 13 abattoirs were still pithing. Of these, 10 are expected to cease pithing by 1 July. Officials of the MHS and the Meat and Livestock Commission have met operators who believe they are unable to comply with the ban and have provided advice on how premises and working practices may be adapted to enable them to do so. The MHS has not received any reports of increased incidence of worker injury since the ban came into effect.