Whether the Meat Hygiene Service is able to inspect 100% of carcasses of meat imported from other countries.

The Food Standards Agency advises that the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) routinely carries out random checks on all consignments of imported meat arriving at licensed cutting premises. These random checks have recently been stepped up in light of specified risk material (SRM) failures in consignments of beef from several member states.The agency has instructed the MHS to step up checks on imported meat and specifically to inspect every single consignment of carcass beef imported from Germany through licensed cutting plants, following the cases of beef with SRM attached. Local authorities have also been advised to step up checks on bone-in-beef and sheep meat and the health marking of all meat in the premises they supervise.