Meat Notice 2023-02 – Implementation of the new Australian Standard for the Hygienic Production and Transportation of Meat and Meat Products for Human Consumption (AS4696:2023) (Australian Meat Standard)

NSFS reference: 5

Issue date: Immediate

Date of effect: Immediate

Contact officer:

Jamie Conlan
Director, Meat Modernisation
02 62723022
Jamie.conlan@aff.gov.au

Purpose

This notice advises of the implementation of the new Australian Meat Standard (AS 4696:2023) in export registered meat establishments, from 01 July 2023, following amendment of the definition for the Australian Meat Standard in the Export Control (Meat and Meat Products) Rules 2021 (the Meat Rules), from AS 4696:2007 to AS4696:2023. This notice also refers to the transitional policy that details market access requirements for the EU/UK/US where inspection procedures are subject to trading partner agreement.

Scope

This notice applies to the export of meat and meat products that are required by Australia’s export legislation to be processed in accordance with the Australian Meat Standard. The changes to inspection procedures and disposition judgements in Schedule 2 and 3 of the standard apply to prescribed meat and meat products of the following species:

• cattle and buffalo
• sheep and goats
• pigs

Definitions

The following table defines terms used in this notice.

Term	Definition
Australian Meat Standard	means Australian Standard AS 4696:2007, Australian Standard for the Hygienic Production and Transportation of Meat and Meat Products for Human Consumption. and following amendment to the Export Control (Meat and Meat Products) Rules 2021, means Australian Standard AS 4696:2023, Australian Standard for the Hygienic Production and Transportation of Meat and Meat Products for Human Consumption.
Approved Arrangement (AA)	An approved arrangement under Chapter 5 of the Export Control Act 2020. An arrangement for a kind of export operation in relation to a kind of prescribed goods approved by the secretary. An approved arrangement: Documents the controls and processes to be followed when undertaking export operations in relation to prescribed goods for export Enables the secretary to have oversight of specific export operations
Holder of an approved arrangement	The person or entity, such as a company, who has been granted approval by the Secretary for the approved arrangement.

Background

The Australian Meat Standard has undergone revision by Standards Australia to incorporate risk-based amendments to post-mortem inspection procedures (Schedule 2) and disposition judgements (Schedule 3) for cattle, sheep and goats, and pigs.

The revisions are supported by research projects funded by industry bodies including Australian Pork Limited (APL), Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) and the Australian Meat Processing Corporation (AMPC) and have been completed using a risk-based framework to review inspection techniques and disposition judgements for a number of conditions of food safety concern in cattle, sheep, goats and pigs.

All amendments have been endorsed by the Food Regulation Standing Committee (FRSC) and are currently implemented in domestic abattoirs through alternative arrangements permitted under state and territory legislation.

Following completion of the standards development process, the updated Australian Standard was published on 31 March 2023. Further details on the standards development process can be found on the Standards Australia website.

To support market acceptance for changes to inspection procedures in Schedule 2 of the standard, the department has provided equivalence submissions to relevant competent authorities in the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom.

What’s Changing

Technical amendments to the Australian Meat Standard (AS 4696)

The Australian Meat Standard (AS 4696:2007) has been revised to introduce risk based amendments to Schedule 2 and 3 only. No other technical amendments have been made to the standard. Note that minor non-technical amendments will be made to the preface of the standard.

Amendments to Schedule 2 and 3 of the Australian Meat Standard and the inspection procedures subject to trading partner agreement are detailed in Transition arrangements of the new Australian Standard for the Hygienic Production of Meat and Meat Products for Human Consumption. Attachments to the policy:

• Attachment 1: Amendments to AS4696 Schedule 2 and EU, UK and US requirements
• Attachment 2: Amendments to AS4696 Schedule 3

NOTE: Post- mortem inspection procedures must be conducted by authorised officers in accordance with the department’s instructional material. Where there are specific procedures required to meet importing country requirements, these will be detailed in the instructional material and published on the department’s Manual of Importing Country Requirements (MICOR).

Access to the Australian Meat Standard (AS 4696:2023)

The new standard will not be freely available through CSIRO Publishing.

Standards Australia’s licencing arrangements restrict access to the new standard and individuals and businesses will need to purchase a copy when the new version is published. This applies to both regulators and regulated entities.

• Copies of the updated Australian Meat Standard will be available for purchase from SAI Global or Standards Australia Store

The new Australian Meat Standard will be available at public libraries that provide access to Australian Meat Standards, such as the National Library of Australia

Export Control (Meat and Meat Products) Rules 2021

The new Australian Meat Standard will be implemented in all Tier 1 and Tier 2 export registered meat establishments through an amendment to the definition of the Australian Meat Standard in the Export Control (Meat and Meat Products) Rules 2021 (the Meat Rules), changing from AS 4696:2007 to AS 4696:2023.

The amendment to the Meat Rules is scheduled to come into force on 01 July 2023.

Implementation details

Details regarding the shift to the new standard are contained in Transition arrangements of the new Australian Standard for the Hygienic Production of Meat and Meat Products for Human Consumption.

This Policy includes details of how US, EU and UK establishments will be required to implement the new standard pending agreement from those countries to all the changes in Schedule 2.

How to prepare

Responsibilities

Establishment management must:

1. Review the changes to the Australian Meat Standard and assess how the changes will impact their establishment accounting for importing country requirements.
2. Holders of an approved arrangement must review their approved arrangement procedures to determine whether they require updating to continue complying with the Meat Rules 2021 following amendment to the definition of the Australian Meat Standard.
   • Any amendments needed for an approved arrangement are anticipated to be classified as non- significant variation.
3. Ensure that company employed AAO’s complete MINTRAC Post- Mortem Inspection and Disposition training (when published) and provide evidence of the completed training to the department aao@aff.gov.au.
   • Evidence of completed training must be provided before the amendment to the Meat Rules comes into force on 01 July 2023.
4. Be familiar with the Export Meat Operational Guideline 3.4 Post-mortem inspection.
5. Ensure that importing country requirements continue to be met as outlined in (MICOR) and reflected in the department’s work instructions.
6. Monitor Meat Notices for further information.

Employers of AAO’s must:

1. Ensure that AAO’s undertake the updated MINTRAC Post- Mortem Inspection and Disposition training (when published) and provide evidence of the completed training to the department aao@aff.gov.au. Evidence of completed training must be provided before the amendment to the Meat Rules comes into force on 01 July 2023.
2. Ensure that importing country requirements continue to be met as outlined in (MICOR) and reflected in the department’s work instructions.
3. Become familiar with the updated instructional material (when published).
4. Monitor Meat Notices for information.

Departmental on-plant veterinarians (OPV’s) will:

1. Provide establishment management with a copy of this meat notice as soon as possible.
2. Verify the establishment responsibilities and actions of this meat notice (as relevant) have been included in the holder’s arrangement.
3. Verify the establishment complies with the requirements of this notice.
4. Ensure that AAO’s are being verified in accordance the department’s work instructions and confirm they are adhering to the appropriate instructions.
5. Undertake DAFF training on the updated Australian Meat Standard. Become familiar with the updated instructional material (when published).
6. Become familiar with the updated instructional material (when published) for the Meat Establishment Verification System.
7. Maintain access to a copy of AS496:2023 at On-Plant Veterinary offices in export registered meat establishments.

Departmental food safety meat assessors (FSMA’s) will:

1. Undertake DAFF training on the updated Australian Meat Standard. Become familiar with the updated instructional material (when published).

Meat Exports Branch central office will:

1. Ensure this Meat Notice is reviewed and remains current with the requirements or is archived.
2. Issue a new Meat Notice to advise of the publication of the updated Meat Rules indicating the commencement of the updated Australian Meat Standard AS4696:2023 on 01 July 2023.

MINTRAC will:

1. Update their Post- Mortem Inspection and Disposition training and make accessible through the online training portal (MyTOM) at the following link: https://onlinetraining.mintrac.com.au/login/index.php.
2. Communicate changes to post- mortem inspection and disposition procedures to Registered Training Organisations (RTO’s).
3. Update all their training material and resources to reflect AS 4696:2023.

Indicative implementation timeline

The amendment to the definition of the Australian Meat Standard in the Meat Rules is scheduled to occur on 01 July following the Standards Australia publication of AS 4696:2023 on 31 March 2023.

This Meat Notice will be updated to provide specific information on the commencement of the amended Meat Rules.

Dr Jamie Conlan
Director (Meat Modernisation)
Export Meat Program