FSSAI to audit meat units, slaughter houses in 40 cities

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Tuesday said a third-party audit of meat units and municipal slaughter houses will be conducted in the coming three months in 40 cities besides mandatory food safety audit of the supply chain for e-commerce entities involved in retail meat business.

FSSAI has planned "Clean and Safe Meat" initiative with the objective to develop an ecosystem that will enable the availability of clean and safe meat and meat products to consumers, as per an official statement.

It held a meeting on Tuesday with various stakeholders, including Ministry of Food Processing Industry, to discuss all aspects that affect the quality and safety of meat and meat products either in direct or indirect way.

The meeting took up Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Hygienic practices (GHP) in slaughter and meat processing units, training of meat handlers and eligibility of food business operators handling meat and meat products for obtaining FSSAI licence.

It also looked at the role of animal feed in quality of meat and various existing and upcoming schemes for upgrading the meat industry, especially the unorganized sector, the statement noted.

It said it will explore the possibility of including the BIS certification of feed and formation of a steering group for "Clean & Safe Meat" that will have an overall responsibility for carrying out the activities in this campaign.

"This Campaign will be a part of Lauh Yatra movement, to clean the slaughter houses and meat markets. The stakeholders will be participating in Lauh Yatra covering 2,000 locations in 40 cities across the country," according to the the statement.

--IANS

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