Brussels, 25/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - An audit by the EU Court of Auditors, whose report was published on Thursday 25 October, has revealed weaknesses in the implementation of hygiene requirements in nine of the 25 slaughter houses visited in the countries that have joined the EU since 2004. These related to inappropriate cleaning, disinfection and stunning equipment, the separation of “clean” from “dirty” areas and a lack of adequate storage facilities for meat declared unfit for human consumption. Examples of weaknesses are given for slaughterhouses in Romania, the Czech Republic and Poland.
The Court's audit found that, overall, the design of systems for supervision of hygiene requirements by the Commission and the competent authorities in the member states that recently joined the EU were adequate. The audit revealed a number of weaknesses in the application of the rules and procedures in the member states visited. Furthermore, it revealed weaknesses relating to the sustainability and selection of the funded projects. “While the weaknesses detected do not individually or collectively call into question the overall design of the systems to ensure that hygiene requirements are applied, they demonstrate the need for increased rigour in the application of checks at all levels to mitigate the risks that could lead to serious food safety problems”, the Court of Auditors states by way of conclusion. (LC/transl.jl)