Improved Food Chain Information (FCI) and Collection and Communication of Inspection Results (CCIR)
Food Standards Agency Project FS-517005
Food Control Consultants Ltd (FCC) was commissioned by the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) to lead project FS-517005 examining the use of Food Chain Information (FCI) and the Collection and Communication of Inspection Results (CCIR) within the meat production chain.
The project considered how better collection, communication and use of information could support a more risk-based and proportionate approach to official meat controls.
Background
Food Chain Information provides information about animals and their health status before they arrive at the slaughterhouse. Information generated during ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection can, in turn, provide valuable feedback concerning animal health, welfare and production conditions at the farm of origin.
For such a system to work effectively, information needs to move in both directions through the food chain.
Reliable information from primary production can help inform decisions concerning controls at slaughter, while inspection findings communicated back to producers can assist them in identifying and addressing animal-health, welfare and production problems.
The project examined how these information flows could be improved and used more effectively.
Towards More Risk-Based Meat Controls
A central consideration was how FCI and inspection results could contribute to the development of risk-based official controls.
Rather than applying controls without sufficient differentiation between animals or production systems, reliable information can potentially allow controls to take greater account of identified risks.
The project therefore considered the potential for information concerning farms, animals and previous inspection results to contribute to:
- assessment of risk before slaughter;
- targeting of official controls;
- more proportionate meat-inspection activities;
- identification of animal-health and welfare problems;
- improved feedback to primary producers; and
- better use of information throughout the food chain.
This illustrates a fundamental principle of risk-based official controls: the intensity and focus of controls should be informed by reliable evidence about risk.
Linking Farm and Slaughterhouse Information
The study considered the relationship between information available at farm level and findings generated during slaughter and meat inspection.
Effective communication between primary producers, slaughterhouses, official veterinarians and competent authorities can create a continuous information cycle:
Farm information → Food Chain Information → Slaughter and inspection → Inspection findings → Feedback to the farm
This two-way flow of information can improve both official controls and management decisions at primary-production level.
Over time, accumulated information can also contribute to identifying patterns and trends and provide a stronger evidence base for risk assessment and targeting of controls.
Stakeholder Involvement
The project involved consultation with stakeholders from across the meat production and official-control system.
Workshops and stakeholder discussions were used to examine the operation of existing FCI and CCIR arrangements, identify practical limitations and consider opportunities for improving the collection, communication and use of information.
The workshop material developed during the project remains available below as part of the project record.
Costs and Benefits
The project also considered the practical implications of changes to FCI, CCIR and meat-control arrangements.
An effective risk-based system must provide benefits that justify the resources required to collect, manage and communicate information.
The study therefore considered the costs and benefits associated with alternative approaches, alongside their potential contribution to more effective and proportionate official controls.
Project Outcome
Project FS-517005 contributed to the evidence available to the Food Standards Agency concerning the future use of Food Chain Information and communication of inspection results within the meat production chain.
For FCC, the project is an example of an integrated approach combining:
- food safety and veterinary public health;
- risk-based official controls;
- meat inspection;
- animal-health and welfare information;
- data collection and information flow;
- stakeholder consultation; and
- assessment of the costs and benefits of regulatory controls.
The work demonstrates how information generated at different stages of the production chain can be used to support
Project Resources
The following documents from the completed project remain available for reference:
Final FSA Project Report – FS-517005
Is available on the FSA website, please go to Report on the Food chain information (FCI)