Slaughterhouses

Slaughterhouses are the licensed premises where animals are slaughtered and their carcasses are dressed under hygienic conditions and prepared for retail sale to consumers, a term that also covers abattoirs and butcheries. In regulated systems, carcasses are examined by qualified inspectors or veterinarians both before and after slaughter, and only carcasses free from disease are allowed to leave for retail. A critical control is the removal of specified risk materials, such as central nervous system tissues that may carry BSE prions and could be linked to variant CJD in people, and validated screening methods now detect traces of such material in meat and meat products. HACCP-based controls and effluent management complete the picture.