A risk ranking process identified Salmonella spp. and pathogenic verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) as current high-priority biological hazards for meat inspection of bovine animals. As these hazards are not detected by traditional meat inspection, a meat safety assurance system for the farm-to-chilled carcass continuum using a risk-based approach was proposed. Key elements of the system are risk-categorisation of slaughter animals for high-priority biological hazards based on improved food chain information, as well as risk-categorisation of slaughterhouses according to their capability to control those hazards. Omission of palpation and incision during post-mortem inspection for animals subjected to routine slaughter may decrease spreading and cross-contamination with the high-priority biological hazards. For chemical hazards, dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls were ranked as being of high potential concern; all other substances were
SUMMARYFollowing a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) was asked to deliver a Scientific Opinion on the public health hazards to be covered by inspection of meat from several animal species, with the contribution of the Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) and the Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW). Briefly, the main risks to public health that should be addressed by the meat inspection system were identified and ranked; the strengths and weaknesses of the current meat inspection system were evaluated; recommendations were made for inspection methods addressing hazards not covered by the current meat inspection system; and recommendations for adaptations of inspection methods and/or frequencies of inspection that provide an equivalent level of protection were made. In addition, the implications for animal health and animal welfare of any proposed changes to current inspection methods were assessed. This opinion covers the inspection of meat from bovine animals.The Terms of Reference from the European Commission requested two opinions, one covering bovine animals under six weeks old and the other covering bovine animals over six weeks old. It was determined that within a true risk-based meat inspection concept, it is not necessary to design and apply a separate meat inspection system for individual bovine species or farming systems or animal age categories. Rather, a universal meat inspection framework can be designed and applied that would allow risk categorisation of animals based on individual farm-related food chain information (FCI), which also includes farming system and animal age category components. Furthermore, the available data from the National Residue Control Programmes (NRCPs) do not readily discriminate between the two age groups. Therefore, the assessment did not differentiate between these two age groups in terms of biological hazards, chemical residues and contaminants, and subsequently a single opinion is provided.Decision trees were developed and used for pr...