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<p>Because of the sensitivity of possible changes in the ante-mortem inspection regime as a result of this research, all potential stakeholders will be identified, consulted and included during this study. A list of these will be drawn up to include government organisations, professional organisations, industry representatives and consumer groups. An extensive literature review will be carried out to identify published work on ante-mortem inspection. Outputs from other projects currently being carried out for the FSA will help produce an initial assessment of the conditions that an OV would detect during ante-mortem inspections. Stakeholder meetings will be held to discuss key issues raised. Results from these exercises will be analysed using a Structured What If Technique (SWIFT) to produce a risk summary that will give an overview of the potential risks when using OAs for ante-mortem inspections. </p>
<p>Background: (FS245012) EU legislation requires that an Official Veterinarian (OV) carries out ante-mortem inspection of all red meat animals before slaughter, unless a veterinary ante-mortem inspection has been carried out on the farm. In September 2008, a report was presented on optimising FSA Operations Group resources in meat slaughterhouses. From this, research has been proposed to assess any potential changes in risk to public health, animal health and welfare that could result from ante-mortem inspections being carried out by Official Auxiliaries (OAs) rather than by OVs for young and prime red meat animals and for poultry. This project will analyse the nature of conditions detected at ante-mortem inspection and the frequency of detection. Competencies needed to detect these conditions will be examined and the risks of modifying the current requirements, assessed. </p>