Slaughterhouse given clearance by EU

Malta’s only public slaughterhouse has been cleared by the European Commission after improvements were made in certain areas to upgrade the facility, the government said.
According to Parliamentary Secretary for Animal Rights Roderick Galdes, the government has invested €3.1 million over the past years to address some 40 issues which had been highlighted by an EU audit.
“We have now received the green light from the EU following another fact finding mission they made a few months ago. EU officials told us that all the necessary measures were taken to get our house in order,” Mr Galdes said while touring the new facilities.
Back in 2013, the European Commission had issued a damning report about the slaughterhouse in Marsa, finding it not up to the standards required by EU rules.

The EU officials had highlighted the lack of hygiene requirements, poor maintenance and visual faecal contamination present in many bovine carcasses and poor operational practices.
Manuel Schembri – the abattoir’s chief officer – said that more investment is planned for the coming year with another €1.7 million in new equipment and facilities. Training abroad is also being provided to slaughterhouse...