LPT 321: Meat Science (1+1)

MEAT FOOD PRODUCTS ORDER (MFPO)

• Meat is one of the oldest food items of human being.
• Initially, it was being taken raw but later it began to be processed to satisfy the palate and to provide preservative action.
• But meat is a highly perishable commodity and sanitary conditions and utmost hygienic measures are necessary to safeguard the quality of processed meat food products.
• With the advent of centralised meat processing units, the responsibility to maintain the quality of meat food products became a central concern.
• In 1973, Government of India promulgated an Order to enforce strict quality control on the productio0n and processing of meat food products under Essential Commodities Act 1955.
• The responsibility to enforce this order was entrusted to Directorate of Marketing and Inspection, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Reconstruction.
• The Agricultural Marketing Advisor to the Government of India was made the ex-officio Chairman of meat Food Products Advisory Committee with 10 members who aid and advise ministry in any matter pertaining to this Order.
• The Order aims at maintenance of sanitary conditions in the slaughterhouses, ensuring proper antemortem examination, postmortem inspection of carcasses, in-process inspection and final product checking.
• No person could carry on business as a manufacturer except under and in accordance with the terms and conditions of licence granted to him under this Order.
• Every application for grant of licence shall be made as per the proforma set out in the First Schedule of this Order.
• All meat-processing units, which produce meat food products for, sale within the country come under its preview.
• Restaurants and hotels that prepare meat food products for consumption within their premises are exempted.
• Any food item which is made from flesh or any other edible part of the carcass through the process of curing, smoking, cooking, drying or any other processing technique is referred as meat food product.
• The Order does not apply on raw (chilled or frozen) meat.
• It may be noted that no dealer, agent, broker or vendor can sell or expose for sale or despatch or deliver any meat food products unless the same arte manufactured by a MFPO licencee.

Powers of MFPO Officers

• The Veterinarian inspecting officers of the Directorate are issued necessary authority cards to seek compliance of MFPO.
• These officers are authorized:
  • To enter and inspect the premises of meat food products manufacturers with a view to satisfy themselves that the requirements of this Order are being complied with.
  • To seize or detain on giving proper receipt of raw materials, documents, account books or evidence connected with the manufacture of meat food products in respect of which they have reasons to believe that contravention of the Order has taken place.
  • To dispose of all meat food products and raw materials so seized or detained as they deem fit.

Categories

• MFPO, 1973 initially categorises the meat food manufacturers into the following three broad heads on the basis of source of raw meat:
  • Category A : Includes those manufacturers or licencees of meat food products who possess their own slaughterhouse.
  • Category B : Includes those manufacturers of meat food products who purchase meat from approved slaughterhouse.
  • Category C : Includes those manufacturers of meat food products, who purchase raw meat from any other source.
• The licence fee for each category differs and is collected every year at the time of renewal of licence.

Schedules

Meat Food Products Order, 1973 contains four schedules:

• The First Schedule
  • Deals with application for licence or renewal of licence under MFPO.
  • The information related to applicant, address of factory, source of raw material, description of meat food products which the applicants proposes to manufacture, installed capacity, a plan of factory and a list of equipments has to be provided.
  • Application for renewal of licence should invariably contain the statements pertaining to the quality and value of meat food products manufactured in the previous year.
• The Second Schedule
  • Deals with the minimum sanitary requirements to be complied with by a licencee.
  • It contains detailed instructions regarding factory premises, construction, doors, windows and ceiling, plumbing and drainage system, equipment and manufacturing area, cold storage facilities, precautions against flies, rats and mice, water supply, personnel hygiene and vaccination of factory workers, provision of proper aprons and head gears, etc.
• The Third Schedule
  • Deals with hygienic requirements to be complied with by a licencee who also slaughters animals in his factory.
  • It contains detailed instructions regarding separation between clean and dirty sections within the slaughterhouse, provision of lairage, slaughter hall and refrigeration facilities, antemortem examination, humane slaughter, postmortem inspection and disposal of condemned carcasses or organs, etc.
• The Fourth Schedule
  • Deals with the requirements to be complied with as regards to packaging, marking and labeling the containers of meat food products.
  • It contains detailed instruction with respect to proper packing and sealing of flexible containers, use of internal lacquers and hermetic sealing in tin plate cans, use of internal lacquers and hermetic sealing in tin plate cans, use of bottles and jars.
  • As per MFPO standards, canned meat food products should not contain poisonous elements viz. lead, copper, arsenic, tin, zinc in excess of 2.5, 20, 2, 250 and 50 ppm respectively by weight.
• In the process MFPO officers conduct inspection of meat food product factories and premises regularly.
• They conduct frequent surprise visits to licensed units so as to enforce the implementation of MFPO regulations.
• Samples of meat food products are collected and sent to regional and central Agmark laboratories for specified testing.
• At present there are more than 220 licensed meat food products units under MFPO, 1973 throughout India.
• These units manufacture as many as 185 different types of meat food products.
• Thus, MFPO is playing a major role in safeguarding the interest of meat food products consumers.