May 6, 2008

French slaughterhouses deemed as unhygienic
 

About a quarter of the meat sold in France were not processed in slaughterhouses that meet EU hygiene requirements, according to a report by weekly journal Le Point.

Nearly half of the slaughterhouses for poultry, pigs, cattle, calves and rabbits have poor hygiene, according to the report.

"The situation in the slaughterhouses can sometimes be called apocalyptic," said Le Point, which also listed 23 plants where the worst hygiene can be found.

The report was based on a memorandum of the French department of food safety (DGAL), which has refuted the accusations.

"The veterinary services only research the animals upon arrival in the slaughterhouses and check the carcasses' veterinary quality upon departure," vice-director Monique Eloit said.

Only 19 out of 333 French slaughterhouses, altogether responsible for 1 percent of total processed meat, are in the lowest category of the French hygiene scheme, Eloit added.

However, the DGAL admitted that 59 French slaughterhouses have been closed in the past five years due to economic or hygiene reasons. The service has also been requested to step up on hygiene checks on smaller slaughterhouses to meet EU hygiene standard.

This initiative follows a caution from the European agency for animal health that hygiene standards in France have to improve.