Agricultural holding

Technical Specification - Management System for Quality Assurance of Pork. Specifications for the cutting, boning, processing and packaging of pork

This technical specification outlines the requirements for implementing specific rules on meat processing, boning and cutting methods and certain other processes at meat processing plants to ensure the quality and hygiene of the finished product, thereby covering the relevant national and Community provisions and ensuring traceability from raw materials to finished products.

It includes guidelines on how to produce and process boned pork, and how to produce certain products made therefrom, based on:

a) proper design of the facilities;

b) the origin of the meat;

c) good industrial practice in the area of production methods;

d) production hygiene;

e) staff hygiene.

It can be used by all processing plants wishing to:

a) put in place, implement and maintain particular specifications to document the quality of their pork cutting, boning and processing methods;

b) ensure that the pork cutting, boning and processing procedures comply with the requirements that have been laid down;

c) demonstrate such compliance to interested parties;

d) request certification for pork cutting, boning and processing at their facilities;

e) join the Management System for Quality Assurance of Pork.