The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said a current review of the UK's meat inspection system aims to recover more of the cost of delivering official controls and gradually reduce government subsidy to the meat industry. The FSA estimates the current subsidy at about £40m (€61m) per year for meat hygiene and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) controls.

In a overview of the agency's plans, the FSA said its board has approved a programme of work to look into a range of options in light of EU food hygiene regulations that came into force in January 2006. In April 2006, the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS), in conjunction with the FSA, consulted on proposed changes to veterinary supervision arrangements.

The FSA has also consulted on revised charging arrangements for meat hygiene controls and has received proposals from the meat industry for an alternative approach.

The responses to the two consultations and the industry proposals have been taken into account in the review, the FSA stated.

The proposed programme will have two stages. In the first stage the review team will deliver a long list of options for the regulator's board to consider at its February 2007 meeting. The board will then select the two or three options for further analysis

Source: Food Navigator.com