We are advised by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) that European Union food hygiene regulations place a responsibility on slaughterhouse operators to request and receive food chain information for all animals sent for slaughter for human consumption. This requirement entered into force for cattle, sheep and goats on 1 January 2010.
In November 2009, the FSA wrote to all slaughterhouse operators to inform them of this responsibility and advise them to contact their livestock suppliers to make appropriate arrangements. In addition, in late November/early December 2009, the FSA undertook a number of initiatives to publicise the new requirements widely including to livestock keepers.
Subsequently, in response to a request from cattle and sheep industry representative bodies, the FSA also collaborated with them to produce guidance for livestock keepers. This guidance was finalised and placed on the FSA website on 23 December 2009:
www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/foodchaininfofactsheet.pdf.
Hard copies of the guidance were distributed to all slaughterhouse operators and livestock markets on 29 December 2009.