Hypothetical hygiene regs question.

kingstonandy

Well-Known Member
It seems that there are several people on here far more knowledgeable than I am on the technicalities of complying with the game meat rules.

At the moment I have;

A supply of venison off my own ground.
Large game and basic food hygiene certificates.
A friendly butcher with vac pack facilities.
Several local food retailers with whom I'm already doing non-food business.

It occurs to me that in principle I could skin carcasses myself, thereby converting to meat under the hunters exemption, subcontract the hanging, cutting and packing, then deliver on ice to local retailers.

It appears to me that I would need to;

Register as a food business.
Construct a clean (but not chilled) skinning area. (with sinks?)
Produce compliant labelling.
Have clean transport to the butchers. (carcase sealed in plastic, very short journey so not refrigerated.)

This all seems too easy, so I must be missing some glaring pitfalls somewhere. Any ideas?

Andy
 
you seem to have it covered your food business inspector will confirm if that is ok for your area, as it is a little like fac's each area has its own version
 
I think you may have a problem without a chiller Andy. Bearing in mind most deer are shot at first/last light or at the weekend? You will have to skin whilst still warm if not chilling to below 7 degrees. How will you store it if the butchers is not open? :confused: Transporting skinned animals is difficult without the proper facilities.
You may have problems with traceability as you are not selling to the final consumer. Get yourself an old coke fridge and you'll be sorted and much more flexible. ;)
As Standbuck says, as your local council for advice. It is free and they will normally try to help as they would rather see somebody trying to do things properly. Good luck.
MS :)
 
I live in Scotland and have a chiller which I store Birds and Venison in prior to collection by a Registered Game Dealer. Non are sold direct to the public or processed on my premises apart from what I use for my own personal use.

I have a meat hygene certificate in small and large game.

My local council (Fife) insisted that I registed as a Primary Food Production Company and the chiller is currently "Awaiting Inspection" from their food hygene team.


http://www.food.gov.uk/foodindustry/regulation/hygleg/hygleginfo/primprodqanda/

Mark.
 
You say your butcher lives on the premises so you may be alright but i think you will find you are not aloud to put animals in the skin in a fridge with other meat as it may contaminate it . So you may have to skin it first before taking it to him ,check it out with the local council as you dont want him to get in trouble do you
 
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