The meat inspection is part of the concept 'Meat Safety Assurance System' (MSAS), which encompasses all measures in the value chain that make meat safe and healthy to eat. Despite all the measures, a significant number of illness cases and some 'food scandals' occur.
The main disease-causing hazards, such as Salmonella and Campylobacter, cannot be detected through standard examination of each carcass. Most often, contaminated products will be sold and consumed before a possible source of infection can be detected and controlled. Therefore, efforts are being made to improve the systems for examination and control of food safety.
Network project funded by the EU
EU funds European networks, known as 'COST actions', in fields where it is desirable to strengthen research and innovation. The new COST action 'Risk-based meat inspection and integrated meat safety assurance' (RIBMINS), gathered in November 2019 over 150 experts in the field working towards the improvement of meat inspection.
The network project lasts for four years. The goal is to investigate whether new technologies and approaches to food safety can improve and reduce the cost of the work. RIBMINS follows up on the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) recommendation for the development of a risk-based system, where measures are implemented in the value chain where they have the greatest impact and are most cost-effective. Sharing information and successful solutions among different countries is an important objective