The distribution and sale of home-slaughtered products is not allowed today, but what is the real risk? In Germany, farmers' slaughter of lambs under the age of three months is kept to a minimum, as the risk to consumers is assessed as low. Direct trade in the products of those lambs is not subject to restrictions beyond traditional products, but this was stated in a lecture by Andreas Hensel, CEO of the German risk assessment agency BfR at Matís' meeting in Miðgarður, Varmahlíð, on 5 July.
In order to be able to make changes to regulations and laws regarding food production, it must be ensured that these changes do not threaten the safety and health of consumers. On the other hand, there are many opportunities to allow the sale of home-slaughtered products to promote innovation and product development in agricultural products. But we need to know what the risk is, how much it is and what we can do to minimize it. A risk assessment based on scientific analysis and calculation is a tool that provides public regulators with an overview of the real risks so that they can be limited but also the flexibility to allow farmers to produce products at home on a farm in an approved facility that meets hygiene and living conditions. food production. Risk assessment is therefore the first step in tailoring a system that allows the sale of products and products from home slaughter, based on realistic supervision by public bodies, traceability and good training of farmers to ensure product quality and safety.
Today, farmers can set up small meat processing plants where it is possible to process products from their own livestock, but one aspect of the production chain, i.e. killing of the animals, must take place in slaughterhouses. The consumer's interest in products directly from the farm is constantly increasing and the trade in food via the internet has become a reality today. Abroad, it is possible to buy products directly from the farm, as all stages of production actually take place on the farm. To this end, it is certainly necessary to strengthen the infrastructure of the farms in order to ensure that production is safe. The introduction of a risk assessment with the appointment of a risk assessment committee is therefore long overdue, as its risk assessment can give farmers the opportunity to conduct direct trade in meat and meat products to Icelandic consumers and tourists directly from the farm, where the value and profit from production flows directly to the farmer.
For more information Hrönn Jörundsdóttir, 858-5112.