Animal welfare issues, cattle inspections and staffing, have been identified as problems in Polish factories by auditors from the European Commission.

The objective of the audit was to assess the official rules related to the production of beef, including traceability.

The audit took place after a public broadcast on Polish television of a factory where cows were unable to stand or were injured and found shortcomings in the implementation of rules and regulations in the factory.

It led to the recall of Polish beef “unfit for human consumption” from 15 member states.

Discrepancies

Auditors found there were discrepancies in the recording of findings of the inspection of cull cows before they reached the kill line.

For example, in one factory four cows, of which one had a split pelvis, were identified after going through the kill line and a significant amount of meat had to be discarded.

“The record mentioned the ‘presence of an injured animal’. It was very unlikely that the animal could have walked normally into the transport vehicle at farm. Nevertheless, no further investigations were undertaken,” the auditors said in their report.

Auditors said the findings at pre-kill inspections were “sporadically recorded” and that there were indications that non-compliances could have been occurring.

In terms of hygiene, one factory was found to have unhygienic collecting of red offal fit for human consumption and insufficient stunning. Immediate action was taken and the factory’s approval for supply was revoked.

Staffing shortage

The audit found that there is an exodus of factory workers and the recruitment of staff is “highly problematic”, mostly due to the low wages in the roles.

It also found the pay structure of the authorised vets is directly related to the throughput of the factories they work at. As a result, when there is low throughput there is lower pay.

Room for improvement

Overall, auditors found that there was room for further improvement in the rules relating to the production of beef, including traceability, at Polish factories in some key areas:

  • Animal welfare when transporting injured cattle.
  • The assessment and recording of pre-kill and post-kill findings in order to identify animal welfare issues.
  • The on-farm emergency slaughter of injured animals unfit for human consumption.
  • The audit looked at enforcement of official rules, in particular those over slaughter, traceability and animal welfare at slaughter, along with the rules around the production, processing and distribution chains of beef.

    Five beef factories, three cutting plants, two cattle dealers and a rendering part were inspected under the audit.

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