Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1285850
7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 SEPTEMBER 2020 NEWS JAMES DEBONO THE Maltese authorities have been accused by the European Commission of neglecting offi- cial controls on the incineration of animal waste. A second, consecutive re- port issued in the space of one week by the EC's Food and Veterinary Office has revealed damning shortcomings in the abattoir and the meat produc- tion sector, and the handling of animal by-products (ABP), that is waste from animal meat not consumed by people. "The evidence seen on the spot in the establishments visited by the audit team suggests that recent official controls are not effective in detecting and pre- venting inappropriate process- ing, handling and use of ABP." The inspectors said that with so many shortcomings, "the overall picture is not consistent with a well-functioning system of official controls". It turns out that a plan to in- spect all ABP plants and opera- tors at least once a year, was not even achieved: for the last three years, Malta's main ABP plants and operators in the country were operating without any of- ficial controls. Not even the biogas plant in Maghtab, which caters for ani- mal manure, was ever subjected to any veterinary controls. In one inspection, the audi- tors found the meat and bone meal resulting from the thermal treatment that precedes incin- eration, stored in "large open vats" from which birds were ob- served feeding from. This was deemed to be in breach of EU laws which re- quire that animals must not have access to ABP awaiting incineration, to prevent the spread of disease from waste to other animals. A large number of plastic con- tainers were found stored in a yard without any identification, which the Maltese said were "rendered fats stored for incin- eration". But EU rules specify that ABP must be "covered, and correctly identified". Enforcement action was later taken to address the thermal treatment facility shortcomings. An inspection in an unspec- ified poultry slaughterhouse, where blood was being col- lected in vats to be disposed of in the high-capacity incin- erator plant at Marsa, found that blood had ended up in the drain of the slaughter hall, some of which was leaking into the slaughterhouse surroundings. All this was in breach of regula- tions which prohibit the dispos- al of blood in the normal waste stream. Staff shortages blamed for lack of controls Staff shortages in Malta's vet- erinary sector is having a spill- over effect on operations at the Marsa incineration plant where animal waste is disposed of. The situation is particularly acute for units responsible for ABP control and for derived products, which have high staff turnover. At the time of the audit, 11 posts for veterinary officers at the Veterinary Regu- lation Department were vacant. Several officers were forced to take on additional duties, work- ing only half-time for their orig- inal job description without any specific training for their new tasks. The ABP section includes only three officers, one of whom is on long-term leave. Now the Maltese authorities plan to ease language require- ments for foreign staff to ad- dress these chronic shortages. The lack of training in the ABP section is so acute, the last training took place in 2011. Moreover the lack of enforce- ment and the shortcomings in practically all of the sites indi- cate that the staff responsible for controls has "insufficient knowledge of the specific legis- lative requirements for ABP… compromising their ability to carry out effective official con- trols in this area". "It is concluded that the offi- cial control system is failing and is neither adequately resourced nor organised to allow for this sector to be appropriately con- trolled." The audit is part of a series of audits aimed at assessing if of- ficial controls by EU states to cover the entire chain of collec- tion, transport, use and dispos- al of animal by-products (ABP) and derived products (DP) and if the controls are suitable to detect and prevent inappropri- ate handling, use and/or dispos- al of the products placed on the Union market. Serious shortcomings in incineration of animal waste The Marsa abattoir "Recent official controls are not effective in detecting and preventing inappropriate processing, handling and use of animal by-product"