The Food Safety Authority (FSA) is looking at axeing government
meat inspectors and allowing meat companies to do their own
inspections.
But the move is prompting fears that the quality of New Zealand
beef and lamb will be compromised.
All meat is currently given a stamp of approval from government
meat inspectors before it reaches the plates of New
Zealanders.
But over the next six months, some meat companies will trial
performing their own inspections. If successful, hundreds of
independent government inspectors could be culled permanently,
prompting fears that tainted meats will pass quality checks.
"If we are not there, there is nobody there to make sure that they do it right. It's like taking the policemen out of the community," government meat inspector Keith Gutsell said.
Meat Industry Association CEO Tim Ritchie believes those fears are unfounded.
"The companies are totally motivated not to cut the corners, to ensure that it is done properly," Ritchie said.
The FSA says government meat inspectors often find themselves having to check things that aren't food safety issues.
"Is it a food safety issue to have pieces of wool and grass seeds and those sort of things? Do we really need a government inspector who's in the plant monitoring those sorts of things?" Carol Barnao from the FSA said.
But Gutsell says axeing the inspectors would leave meat company employees to identify serious problems, like identifying cysts on a meat carcass, and they are not qualified to do that.
The Food Safety Authority says New Zealand's major trading partners like the UK and the US are also considering meat inspection reform.
But those countries mainly supply their local market, whereas New Zealand exports most of its meat so requires extra-careful examination.
Meat companies will have to prove their own inspections are top quality over the next few months, during the lamb slaughter season.
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