PIANZ: Strict processing standards in place
August 2006
Poultry processors say strict processing standards are already in place.
The poultry industry says chicken and red meat face equally tough scrutiny when it comes to disease control and processing standards.
The red meat sector this week complained that poultry processors should be facing the same strict codes of compliance as the red meat industry.
But the Poultry Industry Association
(PIANZ) says meat industry spokesman Tony Forde's claims on
last night's
PIANZ
executive director Michael Brooks says New Zealand poultry
processors are already working to strict government
guidelines. "The companies have thorough inspection
programmes run by qualified and independently trained people
who regularly check the birds throughout the process," he
says. "Every company involved in poultry processing must
have a registered Risk Management Programme with the New
Zealand Food Safety Authority. "These Risk Management
Programmes are regularly audited by the NZFSA's Verification
Agency. The NZFSA also makes regular site
inspections." ENDS