All fresh meat leaving the Marsa abattoir will be transported in refrigerated vans as from next month, Resources Minister George Pullicino said.

Although most meat is already transported in these cold vans, as from June 15 this will be the case for all meat, Civil Abattoir director of operations, Paul Fenech Gonzi elaborated. They spoke during a seminar organised for abattoir workers about food hygiene.

This was one of the various measures being implemented to ensure that Malta’s abattoir reaches EU standards. Mr Pullicino stressed that, while the government had already invested €2 million in upping standards, the workers’ daily practices played a vital role.

These improvement were primarily aimed at giving clients the peace of mind to know that the meat they eat of the best possibly quality.

For this reason good hygiene should practices should start at the farm and continue at the abattoir and to the point where the meat reaches customers’ plates.

During the seminar abattoir workers raised their concern over the neighbouring WasteServ animal carcass incineration plant.

While they agreed with the incineration, they were concerned that the occasional stench emitted – when the freezer was open – could damage their business as people perceived the smell as originating from the abattoir.

Mr Pullicino assured them that government was working on finding a solution to this smell –that did not originate from the incineration but the freezer.

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