Review of On-Farm Food Safety Best Practice

Summary

In the US, the rigorous enforcement of a specific and objective zero tolerance policy has promoted extensive research in this area.
This research has confirmed that the hide is the source of most carcass contamination and that cleaning it before its removal prevents almost all carcase contamination. Consequently US meat processing plants are implementing systems for washing cattle post-knocking. Investigations into a wide range of options for reducing the pathogen load of the animal are also ongoing.

By contrast, the Australian Standard for Hygienic Production and Transportation of Meat and Meat Products for Human Consumption - AS 4696:2002 - requires that "reasonable steps are taken to present animals for inspection in a clean condition".
Because the Australian standard is far less specific and less objective than the US policy the required standard of cattle cleanliness varies widely between processing works.

The most common means for meeting Australian standard is washing of live cattle. This raises concerns about cattle welfare and stress and the subsequent effects on meat quality.

The best system is likely to involve washing cattle post-knocking at processing plants but this has been rejected by the processing sector. Nevertheless ongoing negotiation is recommended.

Alternatively, the adoption of the Clean Cattle Assessment Scheme to enable objective identification of the cattle that require cleaning, preferably at the processing works, and washing of these cattle is recommended.  Further research into methods for improving the efficiency of hide cleaning is supported.