# The Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1992, Regulation 2: Interpretation


(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
“the Act” means the Food Safety Act 1990;
“animals” means the following food sources namely—
(a) domestic animals of the following species: bovine animals (including buffalo of the species Bubalus bubalis and Bison bison), swine, sheep, goats and solipeds; and
(b) farmed game;
“another member State” means a member State of the European Community other than the United Kingdom;
“appropriate Minister” means, as respects England, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and as respects Scotland or Wales, the Secretary of State;
“carcase” means the whole body of a slaughtered animal after bleeding, evisceration and removal of the limbs at the carpus and tarsus, removal of the head, tail and udder and, in addition, in the case of bovine animals, sheep, goats, farmed game and solipeds, after flaying; and, in the case of swine, after bleeding and evisceration, whether or not the limbs at the carpus and tarsus and the head have been removed;
“cold store” means any premises, not forming part of a slaughterhouse, cutting premises, farmed game processing facility or a farmed game handling facility, used for the storage under temperature controlled conditions of fresh meat intended for sale for human consumption;
“contravention” in relation to any provision of these Regulations includes a failure to comply with that provision;
“country of destination” means the member State to which fresh meat is sent from another member State;
“cutting premises” means premises used for the purpose of cutting up fresh meat intended for sale for human consumption;
“cutting up” means—
(a) cutting fresh meat into cuts smaller than half carcases cut into three wholesale cuts; or
(b) removing bones from fresh meat;
“disinfect” means to apply hygienically satisfactory chemical or physical agents or processes with the intention of eliminating micro-organisms;
“examine in detail” means to examine by making multiple deep incisions into lymph nodes;
“farmed game” means wild land mammals which are reared and slaughtered in captivity, excluding—
(a) mammals of the family Leporidae, or
(b) wild land mammals living within an enclosed territory under conditions of freedom similar to those enjoyed by wild game;
“farmed game handling facility” means any building, premises or place, other than a slaughterhouse, used for the purpose of slaughtering farmed game, the flesh of which is intended for sale for human consumption;
“farmed game meat” means meat obtained from farmed game;
“farmed game processing facility” means premises, other than a slaughterhouse, used for the purpose of dressing farmed game the flesh of which is intended for sale for human consumption;
“final consumer” means a person who buys fresh meat—
(a) for his own consumption;
(b) for direct transport to, and consumption on, premises either in his ownership or under his personal supervision or in the ownership or under the personal supervision of a person employed by him; or
(c) for cooking on premises either in his ownership or under his personal supervision or in the ownership or under the personal supervision of a person employed by him for sale as take-away food for consumption off those premises;
“fresh”, as applied to meat, means all meat, including chilled or frozen meat, which has not undergone any preserving process and includes meat vacuum wrapped or wrapped in a controlled atmosphere;
“health mark” means a mark applied in accordance with regulation 11 and of a kind and in the manner set out in Schedule 12;
“inspector” means an authorised officer who—
(a) has any qualification specified in Schedule 22; and
(b) is appointed as an inspector in accordance with regulation 8(2);
“lairage” means (except in regulation 17) that part of a slaughterhouse used for the confinement of animals awaiting slaughter there;
“licensed”, in relation to any slaughterhouse, cold store, cutting premises, farmed game handling facility or farmed game processing facility, means licensed by the appropriate Minister under regulation 4;
“livestock unit” means 1 bovine animal or soliped, 3 swine or deer or 7 sheep or goats;
“local authority” means—
(a) as respects each London borough, district or non-metropolitan county, the council of that borough, district or county;
(b) as respects the City of London (including the Temples), the Common Council; and
(c) as respects Scotland, an islands or district council;
“low throughput”—
(a) in relation to a farmed game processing facility means a throughput of not more than 1,800 farmed deer or farmed wild boar carcases each year at a rate not exceeding 36 each week;
(b) in relation to a slaughterhouse means a throughput of not more than 600 livestock units each year at a rate not exceeding 12 each week;
(c) in relation to cutting premises not forming part of a slaughterhouse licensed under regulation 4(2)(a)(i), means a production of not more than 3 tonnes of fresh meat each week;
“manure pit” means a pit which is used to collect or contain dry sheep manure and which is situated beneath a self-cleaning open mesh or grating-type floor in a sheep lairage;
“meat” means all parts of animals which are suitable for human consumption;
“mechanically recovered meat”, which includes mechanically separated meat, means finely comminuted meat obtained by mechanical means from flesh-bearing bones apart from—
(a) the bones of the head;
(b) the extremities of the limbs below the carpal and tarsal joints and, in the case of swine, the coccygeal vertebrae,
and intended for establishments approved in accordance with Article 6 of Council Directive 77/99/EEC;
“the Ministers” means the following Ministers acting jointly, namely the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Secretary of State for Wales;
“occupier” means—
(a) in relation to any person, other than a local authority, carrying on the business of a slaughterhouse, cutting premises or a cold store (either together or separately) or a farmed game processing or farmed game handling facility, that person or his duly authorised representative;
(b) in relation to a slaughterhouse, cutting premises, cold store, farmed game processing facility or farmed game handling facility under the management of a local authority or a joint board constituted under the Public Health Act 1936, that authority or board;
“offal” means fresh meat other than that of the carcase, whether or not naturally connected to the carcase;
“official veterinary surgeon” means a veterinary surgeon designated by the appropriate Minister;
“packaging”, in relation to fresh meat, means placing wrapped fresh meat into a receptacle and “package” shall be construed accordingly;
“premises” means any slaughterhouse, cutting premises, cold store, farmed game handling facility or farmed game processing facility;
“sell” includes offer or expose for sale or have in possession for sale or supply, otherwise than by sale, in the course of a business;
“slaughterhall” means that part of the slaughterhouse in which animals are slaughtered or the bodies or slaughtered animals are dressed;
“slaughterhouse” means any building, premises or place (other than a farmed game handling facility) for slaughtering animals, the flesh of which is intended for sale for human consumption, and includes any place available in connection therewith for the confinement of animals while awaiting slaughter there;
“veterinary officer” means a veterinary officer of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;
“viscera” means offal from the thoracic, abdominal and pelvic cavities, including the trachea and oesophagus;
“wrapping”, in relation to the protection of fresh meat, means placing in material which comes into direct contact with such meat as well as the material itself.
(2) Except in so far as the context otherwise requires, any reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation or Schedule shall be construed as a reference to the regulation or Schedule bearing that number in these Regulations.
(3) Nothing in these Regulations shall be construed as derogating from the provisions of the Animal Health Act 1981 or of any Order made thereunder.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1992/2037/regulation/2 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/fresh-meat-hygiene-and-inspection-regulations-1992/regulation-2
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.