Certificate in Meat Hygiene

This course was established to train technical staff of the Department of Agriculture and Food as auxiliaries under the requirements of EU Directive 91/497/EEC. Staff are required to undergo at least 400 hours of theory and at least 200 hours of practical training in subjects including hygiene, legislation and animal anatomy and physiology, as outlined in Annex III of the Directive.

Successful completion of this course leads to the award of a Level 2 Vocational Certificate from the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC). The course consists of nine modules as follows:

Animal Welfare Relating to Slaughter
Red Meat Slaughter Procedure and Hygiene Controls
Anatomy and Physiology of Farm Animals
Nutrition, Growth and Metabolism of Farm Animals
Basic Pathology and Disease
Post Mortem Inspection Procedures
Food Borne Illnesses and Zoonoses
Meat Processing
The Red Meat Industry – Summary and Future
Level 2 Communications

Course Objectives

The objective of the course is to train technical staff to the level of auxiliaries according to Annex III of the EU Directive 91/497/EEC. In accordance with the Directive, at the end of the course students should have knowledge of:

Theory

Anatomy and physiology of slaughtered animals
Pathology of slaughtered animals
Pathological anatomy of slaughtered animals
Hygiene and in particular industrial hygiene, slaughter, cutting and storage hygiene and hygiene of work
Methods and procedure for the slaughter, inspection, preparation, wrapping, packaging and transport of fresh meat
Knowledge of sampling procedures

Practical

Inspection and assessment of slaughter animals
Determination of animal species through examination of typical parts of the animal
Determination of a number of parts of slaughtered animals in which changes have occurred
Post mortem inspection in a slaughterhouse
Hygiene control
Sampling

Duration & Location

All modules apart for the Communications module will be held at The National Food Centre. The meat hygiene modules will each consist of six days tutor contact time followed by a written and practical examination, with students also completing a work based learning log or project as part of the course. The programme will run over a five year period to bring all technical staff through the training.

Training Approach

Training consists of lectures, workshops, practical training and demonstrations in the pilot abattoir facility, and video material. Tutors are veterinary surgeons and experienced trainers from The National Food Centre.

Course participants

This course is funded by the Department of Agriculture and Food and the course has been specifically designed for its personnel. Entrants have one year’s training at agricultural college. Entrants should also have completed the introductory pre-requisite module incorporating basic food hygiene, basic microbiology and HACCP.

Further information

Ruth McArdle, Meat Technology Department, Teagasc, Ashtown Food Centre, Ashtown, Dublin 15. Phone: 01 8059910 Fax: 01 8059550,
Email ruth.mcardle@teagasc.ie.