Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1283588
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 AUGUST 2020 NEWS JAMES DEBONO SEVERAL animal carcasses with faecal contamination were ac- cepted for cutting in a slaugh- terhouse in which veterinary officials failed to "correct the deficiency", an audit by the Eu- ropean Commission's Food Vet- erinary Directorate on the meat industry revealed. Members of the audit team who witnessed the event had to intervene, requesting the trim- ming of the affected areas, with the task being swiftly carried out by the available personnel. In their reply to the audit, the Maltese authorities informed the EC that their veterinary sup- port officers had been trained to check and identify, and remove faecal contamination from car- casses. The audit on abattoirs, car- ried out between February and March, found that Maltese vet- erinary authorities at all levels were "seriously understaffed". This weakened the effectiveness of official controls on matters like traceability of red meat and poultry meat, the verification of cleanliness in establishments, and microbiological testing of carcasses at slaughterhouses. Additionally, at the time of the inspection the posts of Chief Veterinary Officer and four out of five heads of unit were vacant; at the lower level, the tasks of several vacant posts were shared by available staff from different services, without appropriate training. "As a consequence, the frequency of inspections of food producing establishments, based on the risk assessment of their activities, cannot be respected, and relevant non-compliances with regard to regulatory re- quirements in all areas remain undetected for a long period of time." The audit said that no supervi- sion of veterinary officials took place to give the authorities "a reasonable level of assurance that controls are carried out uniform- ly, correctly and consistently, and to allow it to take corrective actions if needed". Supervision was limited to self-assessments and by some checks on the work- ing documentation. Furthermore, not all officials had the sufficient knowledge or experience to perform adequate checks; and no specific training was in place for staff given new responsibilities or to cover va- cant posts. Staff shortages do not only im- pact on the Veterinary Regula- tion Unit, which is responsible for the implementation of food safety legislation in production, processing, transport and trade of food of animal origin, but al- so health ministry's environment health directorate, which in- spects butchers. EHD representatives said staff shortages meant inspections of butchers were being performed at a much lower frequency than planned, and do not always cover all items present in the inspec- tion checklists. Shortages blamed on Maltese language requirement The Maltese authorities blamed the staff shortages on the salary levels offered to junior veterinar- ians in the public sector, and the Maltese language requirement to qualify for the post. However, this will be modified for candidates from abroad, with newly recruited staff not fluent in the Maltese language granted one year to attend intensive lan- guage courses and undergo pro- ficiency tests. Still, attempts to recruit more veterinarians were unsuccessful. The last two competitions result- ed in only one suitable candidate selected. Another call in March 2020 selected two candidates, one of whom declined the post. Staff shortages are weakening veterinary controls on meat establishments in Malta, an EU commission audit says Food safety controls suffer due to staff shortages "Several carcasses with faecal contamination had been accepted for cutting" and veterinary officials did not react "to correct the deficiency." The audit team had to intervene