New Report Says One in Four British Abattoirs Fail Hygiene Tests

Investigations into what goes on behind the closed doors of British slaughterhouses often focus on animal welfare issues: how livestock is treated during transportation, whether CCTV would reduce instances of abuse, and the ways in which equipment failures can cause unnecessary suffering.

But a new report suggests that the hygiene conditions in which animals are processed after they've been killed is also a cause for concern.

According to an investigation by the Observer and the Bureau for Investigative Journalism, there have been major hygiene failings at one in four UK slaughterhouses. These breaches could cause contamination in the food chain and expose consumers to salmonella, campylobacter, and E Coli.

The investigators came to this worrying discovery after analysing Government safety audits of more than 323 abattoirs in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. They also found that more than a quarter of slaughterhouses failed to meet a key benchmark set by the Food Standards Agency, which states that "all handling and processes from slaughtering to despatch are done in a way that avoids the contamination of meat and offal entering the food chain." Some of these hygiene failings included carcasses coming into contact with the floor, equipment not being sterilised or washed adequately, and meat splashed with dirty water.

Contaminated meat can carry foodborne bacteria and cause severe food poisoning. According FSA figures, there are more than a million cases of food poisoning reported every year, with campylobacter the most common illness-causing pathogen.

But shocking slaughterhouse conditions wasn't the only problem uncovered by the Observer's investigation.

Investigators also found that FSA audit records had been altered to conceal the number of hygiene breaches at abattoirs. One whistleblower said that data about the contamination of carcasses was misrecorded to hide poor hygiene practices, which could allow dirty meat into the food chain. One such method involved auditors telling slaughterhouses to simply trim parts of meat that were visibly contaminated.

MUNCHIES reached out to the FSA for comment but had not received a reply at the time of publication.

We spoke to Peter Stevenson, chief policy advisor at charity Compassion in World Farming about the report. He said: "These concerning findings show that there is a clear need for greater transparency over slaughterhouse practices—from hygiene right through to animal welfare. Coupled with the recent FSA figures on animal welfare breaches at slaughter, the picture emerging of UK abattoirs is very worrying. The Government must take urgent steps to ensure that all meat is safe to eat."

Maybe it's time to heed Morrissey's wise words and just go veggie, after all.