What qualification?

flyingfisherman

Well-Known Member
Righto, may be being thick but what qualification and set-up would i need to do/have in order to sell carcasses SKINNED to butchers/pubs/restaurants?

Im pretty sure its economically unviable on a small basis, but interested to know what qualification you need, how you keep it and where you can do the skinning? And also the cost..

Mucho grassy a*se!


Ben
 
Level one .you can sell up to 300 carcasses per year this is what is classed as a small amount ,all the relevant information is on the Food standards agency large game part of there web site I've posted all the details on here before .

http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/draftwildgameguide.pdf

It's under hunters exemption part 6
This is only as small part of the information on large game it's all worth a look .
 
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You need to be a trained hunter as widows son has said.

This can be level 1 or NGO game meat hygiene you will also need to be a registered food business and a leicensed venison dealer.

There is no limit to the number of carcasses that you can process and sell as a trained hunter.

The 300 carcasses is a number that often crops up it was the number being banded around before the new rules came out but never made it to the legislation
 
Fantastic, I have level 1 so all is good, just going to have a read on the FSA website. 300 seems like a large number for 'amateurs'. I mean the chances of me having 300 deer to process personally in a year is never going to happen!!
 
You have to be registered as a food business with the local authority (i'm assuming your in england), use the hunters exemtion as mentioned, comply with environmental health conditions (this will come about once you register as a food business) and provide a HACCP plan (which will involve training).
You are right about it being economically unviable but if you want to do things right and stay on the right side of the law its the way to go!!
If you need further info you can pm me and the offer is there to see our small setup.
 
YEP!
Welcome to the world of red tape! HACCP and EHO,these words will fill your world with dread.

Just one other thing, you will not earn a crust from just 300 deer..unless they are free!

regards
Griff
 
So registered food business? Does that mean you need your own larder, stainless setup etc etc..?

Registered Food Business - yes, stainless larder set up - NO!
You will only require basic facilities. Ask the council to visit and advise, they are normally helpfull if you are trying to do things 'above board'. The 300 limit was a figure quoted in the first draught version of the guide and has now been removed. The limit is now classed as 'self defining' which I read as one person can only do so much in a local area!
As Griff said, you'll not make a living at it, but it is the best way to maximise profits on whatever amount you do.
MS
 
hi flyingfisherman
you will need level one trained hunter ,but if you want to be a bussiness you will after apply to harrogate council for a dealers lisence .which is really easy just tell them that there will be no waste on site , and you will have the deer on site for no more than half hour ,this time is to be used to ring around the pubs .pay your money and put up a sign saying game dealer and phone number on your house THATS IT .i had mine at the address in ripon until it rang out but did not renew.you also after keep a record of all the game you sell and who to and car reg numbers for five years.if you need more infor i can tell you more over a pint or give me a ring .:D
 
Doesnt sound too bad, just really thought about it for possibly the odd one that i cant fit in the freezer. Ive been asked a lot for venison and theyre willing to pay. Im not interested in making a living from it..

Griff - Im trying to make enough money back to pay for a new sump, rangefinder oh and a radio! The chemical metal patch didnt drip a single drop!! :)
 
Hi FF,
First ring the EHO, they will come out and give you free on-site advice as to what they require.
HACCAP, no training needed, plenty of info on the web, in fact the EHO assisited me as did a member on this site.
As Monkey Spanner said, no stainless table's required.
Don't forget the last thing, insurance!
Cheers
Richard
 
Good luck to you from small acorns grow- - - - - - - -
Hope common sence prevails and your andevours flurish
Regards ian
 
all I know is that if you process any game including venison you have to be a trained hunter and either have to be an AGHE or approved by your local council. If you are an AGHE you can deal any quanity to anywhere but you are controlled and inspected by DEFRA. You can also buy in. If you are under the council you can sell 10000 units a year within a 30 mile radius of your business address and 20% only can go to trade this includes resturants, the rest ,80%, has to be to customers for their use only. You can only sell your game or game that you were involved in the taking of. When you ask what is a unit, for instance one deer may produce, 30 steaks " are these all units" you get some funny looks so then they start to talk about waight. All this is on the Govenment web site. When the council inspect , which they do, You have to show them your facilities which have to be sanitry and and have wipeable surfaces of some sort. You have a check list , and so do they and they ask you to keep a diary. Anyone working with the meat must be trained and breifed on working systems to avoid contamination. It sounds a lot but they are very helpful. However you have to go with what your inspector tells you because the rules are so open that it is very difficult to pin them down to yes and no answers. For instance we have to use offel bins and they dont want us to bury anything.

Once your registered it is quite straight forward. We now process all our game taken on the shoot and it is well worth the effort.

Mark
 
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