Assessment comparing Meat Production Processes in selected countries with a focus on potential Consumer Exposure to Foodborne Disease

This is a report on a study comparing international food production processes and the prevalence of a number of microorganisms. The study was designed to look at the collection of information and data from various country / meat combinations (including
UK), on the production of meat and poultry meat. This follows an initial feasibility study which considered these aspects in relation to poultry only and four countries. The results of the feasibility study are incorporated within this report.
The study demonstrated that data collection could be challenging, due to the variance in data styles and types available in different countries and the language related issues in non-English speaking areas, particularly when reviewing in-country legislation and data
used for local purposes. As described later, another challenge relates to the way different countries undertake surveys, including methods of sampling, sample handling and testing methodologies which can be different. Whilst countries have control plans for their processes, the way those plans operate is different and can be difficult to compare. Data is collected in various ways, sampling and testing are done differently and data presented in a multitude of formats. This does not necessarily mean that control plans are less effective. Furthermore, if meat is intended for export to the UK it must meet the UK’s import requirements A spreadsheet has been produced alongside this report. This contains key questions answered within this document, each country/meat combination has a short, binary or quantitative answer. A PivotTable has been developed as part of the sheet which allows the user to model trade scenarios and compare side by side data from different regions.