European Parliament New Item, 9 October 2013
Proposals to allow official abattoir vets to declare pork fit for human consumption after a simple visual check, without systematic incision or palpation, will go ahead after MEPs rejected a veto motion tabled by the Food Safety Committee on Wednesday.
The proposals will nonetheless allow the official vet to carry out incision and palpation, before applying the health mark, but only if data of provenance, previous inspections or visual checks indicate possible risks to public health, animal health or animal welfare.
Food Safety Committee MEPs, whose resolution was rejected by 368 votes to 268 with 13 abstentions, reiterated the importance of the role played by official vets.