Clean animals for the food chain

Good farm management practices, in particular regarding hygiene and maintenance, help to promote clean and healthy animals.  This supports the production of safe, profitable, high quality meat.

If animals are kept in a poorly managed environment there is a significant risk of their meat becoming contaminated with organisms which are harmful to people. Even the highest standards of abattoir hygiene cannot guarantee to prevent contamination of the carcass and cross‑contamination of nearby carcases during processing.

 

Steps to take

You can take steps to ensure that your animals are clean at all steps from your farm until delivery to the abattoir.

  • Always provide enough clean bedding.
  • Keep animals in familiar groups to reduce cross-contamination.
  • Keep food and water supplies clean.
  • To reduce transfer of bacteria in faeces, rest pastures between groups of animals and avoid transporting straight from pastures to abattoir.
  • Consider pre-slaughter diet so that droppings are firm or reduced.
  • Where possible, keep animals dry for at least 24 hours before slaughter, as animals with wet coats are a particular hazard.

 

Important to consider

  • Even the highest standards of abattoir hygiene cannot guarantee to prevent contamination of the carcase and cross‑contamination of nearby carcases during processing.
  • Dirty animals cost money as they may be rejected, they may slow line speeds and their hides may be damaged due to dung or careless clipping.
  • Clipping of animals can remove visible dirt as a last resort, but has limitations:
    • it is stressful for the animals
    • it can damage their hides or fleeces
    • it can injure the person clipping
  • When transporting animals to the abattoir:
    • keep journeys as short as possible to help keep animals cleaner
    • use vehicles that enable easy cleaning and disinfection
    • to prevent the transfer of bacteria and minimise distress to animals, do not overload vehicles
    • ensure the vehicle has adequate bedding to soak up faeces and urine during the journey
    • if using a haulier, ensure they are a member of a Quality Assurance scheme

 

Further information

For more information on production and transport of clean animals, please refer to:

Other Guidance