RULES AND REGULATIONS RELATED TO MEAT TRADE

RULES AND REGULATIONS RELATED TO MEAT TRADE

Shubha Singh¹ and Neha Thakur¹

Department of Livestock Products Technology, LLR University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar, Haryana, 125001

*Corresponding author: drshubha.singh06@gmail.com 

Export of animal and animal products had large contribution in Indian economy. India produced 8.80 million tonnes of meat during 2021-22, showing an annual increase of 2.31%.  India stands 5^th in world meat production and accounts for 3% of the total world meat production of 220 million tonnes. Buffaloes in India contribute about 31% of total meat production.  Although India has acquired number one status in the world, contributing 13% of worlds total meat production, the meat production is still lagging behind at 5^th position. Meat industry (slaughter) is linked with quality leather production in which India has acquired second position in the world after Italy. So if proper attention will be given by government, both meat and leather market will also improve their position and hence improve export of products of animal origin.

The Government of India has laid down standards for export of meat, which include standards for abattoir, processing plants and for various meat products. The Indian meat exports are regulated as per Export (Quality control and inspection) Act, 1963 and Export of Raw meat (chilled and frozen) (Quality control and inspection) Rules, 1992. Registration and licensing of abattoirs and meat plants is done by the APEDA and FSSAI. These laws ensure the safety and suitability of food for consumers.

Factors On Which It Depends

Each country regulates food differently and has its own food regulatory framework.  It depends on country whether a country adopts international norms developed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations or WHO (World Health Organization) or a country may also had its own suite of food regulations.

Food Laws Related to Meat and Meat Products in India

The Food Safety Standard Act is a little bucket for all the older laws, rules and regulations for food safety. The FSS Act took 8 older acts into one umbrella viz Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, Fruit Products Order, 1955, Meat Food Products Order, 1973, Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947, Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation) Order 1988, Solvent Extracted Oil, De-Oiled Meal and Edible Flour (Control) Order, 1967, Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992.

1. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been established under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which consolidates various acts & orders that have handled food related issues in various Ministries and Departments. FSSAI has been created for laying down science-based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.

2. Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 (PFA)

The act promulgated by parliament in 29th September 1954 to make provision for the prevention of adulteration of food. Broadly, the PFA act covers food standards, general procedure for sampling, analysis of food, powers of authorised officers, nature of penalties and other parameters related to food. It deals with parameters relating to food additives, preservative, colouring matters, packing & labelling of foods, prohibition & regulations of sales etc. The provisions of PFA Act and Rules are implemented by State Government and local bodies as provided in the rules.

3. MFPO (Meat Food Product Order), 1973

Meat is a highly perishable commodity i.e. why sanitary conditions and utmost hygienic measures are necessary to safeguard the quality of processed meat food products. In 1973, Government of India promulgated an Order to enforce strict quality control on the production and processing of meat food products under Essential Commodities Act 1955. The responsibility to enforce this order was entrusted to Directorate of Marketing and Inspection, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Reconstruction.

4. Agricultural Produce (grading And Marketing) Act, 1937

The Term AGMARK was coined by the joining the words ‘Ag’ to mean agriculture and ‘mark’ for a certification mark. AGMARK provides quality standards for grading, packing and marking of agricultural and animal husbandry products including ghee and butter. AGMARK is a certification mark employed on agricultural product in India, assuring that they conform to a set of standards approved by the directed of marketing and inspection, an agency of the Govt. of India. The central AGMARK laboratory (CAL) is located in Nagpur while there 11regional AGMARK LABORATORIES (RALS) located in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Kanpur, Kochi, Guntur, Amritsar, Jaipur, Rajkot and Bhopal.

5. Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS)

BIS is the national standard body of India working under the ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution, Govt. of India. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the National Standards Body of India is a statutory organization under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986. BIS resolves to be the leader in all matters concerning Standardization, Certification and Quality. BIS is determined to carry out its activities in close cooperation with all concerned organizations and by adopting appropriate management systems, motivating and ensuring active participation of all the employees.

6. Export (Quality Control & Inspection) 1963

• “Export” means taking out of India to be a place outside India;
• “Inspection” in relation to a commodity, means specifications stipulated in the export contract generally by inspecting either the whole batch or a selected sample or samples which purport to represent the whole batch;
• “Quality control”, means any activity having for its object the determination of the quality of a commodity (whether during the process of manufacture or production or subsequently) in order to ascertain whether it satisfies the standard.

7. The Livestock Importation Act, 1898

An Act to make better provision for the regulation of the importation of livestock. Whereas it is expedient to make better provision for the regulation of the importation of livestock which is liable to be affected by infectious or contagious disorders.

In this Act,

1. The expression” infectious or contagious disorders” includes tick- pest, anthrax, glander, farcy, scabies and any other disease or disorder which may be specified by the Central Government by notification in the Official Gazette.
2. ” Livestock” includes horses, camels, sheep and any other animal which may be specified by the Central Government by notification in the Official Gazette.
3. ” Import” means the bringing or taking, by sea, land or air, into India.

Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Requirements in Export Oriented Meat Processing Plants:-

The APEDA registered integrated meat processing plants receive the animals for slaughter in specially designed transport vehicles, where animals are transported in a comfortable posture without any stress. The location of the abattoir where animals are slaughtered and meat is produced should conform to BIS and should be away from environmentally polluted areas and industrial activities. Good Hygienic Practices (GHP) including protection against cross contamination between and during the operations should be followed at animal farms. The layout should have a bio-security built-in in the Plant where two zones should be clearly demarcated namely, black zone and white zone with no cross contaminations between different zones. Identification of animals by registration and tagging has to be carried out as soon as the animals arrive at the slaughter house at unloading area for slaughter which helps in traceability.

Animals after resting be subjected to ante-mortem examination by the qualified veterinarian. Only animals fit for human consumption are sent for slaughter. Animals are slaughtered by being stunned and slaughtered mostly by Halal method in all the export oriented units. For some countries stunning is mandatory where as for other countries stunning is not allowed. After slaughter a detailed post-mortem inspection of carcasses and parts be done soon after in the abattoir. Every carcass which is found to be wholesome and fit for human consumption shall be marked as “Inspected and passed”. After the carcasses have been inspected and passed, they are washed with hot water and sanitized with 20 PPM of Chlorine. For cleaning purpose the temperature of water is kept at 65°C. For disinfection of knives hot water at 82°C be used. The quality of the water is monitored by examining the harmful metals and microbiological content through some recognized external agency. Food grade polythene film should be used in all the different procedures of packing. Proper labels should be placed in between the layers of polythene sheet. The cartons are properly strapped and shrink wrapping is done on each package so as to avoid any damage to cartons. The cartons are passed through heating tunnel (temperature at the heating tunnel is maintained from 150°C to 180°C) for 10 seconds to effect proper shrink wrapping of the film. These shrink wrapped cartons are stocked in the blast freezers at -40°C for 10 hours where deep bone temperature is brought down to -18°C. The frozen meat is kept in cold storage maintained at -18°C to -20°C till it is cleared for loading from the in-house laboratory. According to the current export and import policy of the government of India, each export consignment is subjected to compulsory microbiology and other tests and a comprehensive pre-shipment inspection certificate is issued by the government veterinarian. Each export consignment is accompanied by the animal health certificate. The health certificate states that meat has been obtained from healthy, contagious and infectious disease free animal and also confirms that animal is subjected to ante mortem and post-mortem inspection and fit for human consumption.

Points to be considered for export of animal and animal products:-

• Health requirements/guidelines of importing country
• Request of the importer
• Export rules of GOI
• Pre export quarantine and testing (as applicable)
• Inspection & certification

Foreign Trade of India

• Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992
• Foreign Trade (Regulation) Rules 1993
• Foreign Trade (Exemption) Order 1993
• Garments Export Entitlement Policy: 2000-2004
• Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act, 1963
• Customs and Central Excise Duties Drawback Rules, 1995
• Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999
• Customs and Central Excise Regulations
• Export and Import Policy – now called Foreign Trade Policy

Conclusion

Meat trade in India is slowly emerging as an important factor in India’s agricultural landscape. It is time for stakeholders to come up with effective business plans to take advantage of India’s largest livestock population. The demand for Indian beef is rising in the international markets, hence, one should have knowledge and awareness regarding these important laws while framing a business plan with respect to meat sector.

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