Support Services
Contact Mariana Du Toit at [email protected] for more information
1. Food Safety Management System
Implementation and Support
Systems are easy, practical and do not create a paper war. Consultants with more than 100 years combined experience will ensure your system works for you and not you for your system.
The following systems can be implemented and support is available:
- HACCP
- ISO 9001:2000 – Standard for Quality Management Systems
- ISO 14000 – Environmental Standards
- ISO 18000 – Occupational Health and Safety
Ensure that your abattoir complies with Food Safety in terms of HACCP if required by your customers. Also ensure that the abattoir complies with regulatory requirements in terms of Department of Labour requirements for Occupational Health and Safety and Department of Environmental Affairs and Water Affairs in terms of Environmental legislation.
2. Laboratory sampling
Trained RMAA personnel conduct sampling and ensure correct handling until analysis. The abattoir receives a complete, confidential, user friendly report from the laboratory. This service is aimed at assisting abattoirs to comply with legal requirements and to determine:
- Effectiveness of cleaning and sanitation
- Effectiveness of hand washing
- Effectiveness of hygienic slaughtering procedures
Samples include:
- Microbiological & Chemical water samples
- Microbiological equipment swaps
- Microbiological hand swaps
- Microbiological carcass swaps
3. Audits
A Hygiene Assessment of the entire process, procedures, structure and documentation is conducted by using the Hygiene Assessment System (HAS) to determine the level of compliance with the Meat Safety Act & Regulations. The audits are performed by independent, qualified auditors.
4. Operational support
During an operational support service visit to an abattoir, various aspects of the operations of the abattoir are investigated to determine operational efficiency. Some of the aims of such a service are to ensure:
- Optimal use of personnel
- Know where profit is lost/ can be gained
- Act preventatively
- Save on repair and replacement costs
- Increase productivity
- Increase hygiene and safety
- Increase product quality and reduce damage
The visit is concluded with the submission of a report to the management and may contain various conclusions and suggestions for more efficient operations.
The following aspects may be covered as part of operational support services bur are not restricted to these and abattoirs may contact the RMAA to discuss a personalised contract:
- Correction of deviations regarding slaughter procedures
- Daily production record keeping
- Post and job descriptions of workers
- Production statistics
- Dressing evaluation
- Hide and skin damage control
- Offal handling: primary and secondary
- Promotion and application of technology
- Answering enquiries regarding technology/ information
- Control of production procedures
- Operational impact of regulatory aspects
- Water & Electricity consumption
- Cleaning agents usage
- Saw blade usage
- Effectiveness of stunning
- Cleaning & disinfection
- Equipment
- Export requirements
- Environmental standards and control
5. Skills Development Facilitation (SDF)
The Red Meat Abattoir Association has entered into a partnership with Mpumalanga Agri Skills Development and Training (MASDT) to facilitate the SDF function and the WSP & ATR submission for the abattoir industry.
SDF Role:
- Develop and organisational training and development plan (which is different from providing the statistics for the submission of the Workplace Skills Plan (WSP);
- Conduct an analysis to determine outcomes of learning for skills development and other purposes;
- Conduct skills development administration in an organization;
- Advice on the establishment and implementation of a quality management system for skills development practices in an organization;
- Coordinate skills development interventions in an organization;
- Provide information and advice regarding skills development and related issues; and
- Promote a culture of learning in an organization.
SDF Duties:
- Assist with registration as a levy payer to the relevant SETA
- Register as SDF for the company at the relevant SETA
- Submission of Workplace Skills Plan to relevant SETA – annually before 30 June
- Submission of Annual Training Report to relevant SETA – annually before 30 June
- Liaison between relevant SETA and management of company
- Meeting(s) with management to discuss skills development
- Relay information regarding the payment of levies to management
- Assist with the application of Discretionary Grant to the relevant SETA
The Skills Development Levies Act, No. 9 of 1999 established a compulsory levy scheme for the purpose of funding education and training as envisaged in the Skills Development Act, No. 97 of 1998.
According to the Act, 1% of the salary and wage amount of a company must be paid to SARS monthly. SARS will pay this amount over to the Department of Labour. 80% of the 1% is paid to the relevant Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA). 50% of this amount can be claimed back in the form of MANDATORY GRANTS if a Skills Development Facilitator (SDF) is appointed. The SDF must annually (before end June) submit a Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) and an Annual Training Report (ATR). Once a company is in this cycle of claiming MANDATORY GRANTS back, the company also gains access to the DISCRETIONARY GRANTS of the SETA. DISCRETIONARY GRANTS takes the form of funding from the relevant fund for training.
Note that these grants must be seen as supportive to the annual training budget and not as the only training budget.
Example:
Company annual salary and wage amount: = R3,000,000.00
1% = R30,000.00
80% 0f 1% – paid to SETA = R24,000.00
Appoint SDF and submit WSP & ATR results in 50% Mandatory Grant = R12,000.00
6. Guidelines and research
Guidelines are regularly updated and made available to the industry. Information regarding new technology is captured into these updated guidelines. Research is undertaken in conjunction with universities and individuals in order to stay abreast of a changing environment and regulatory requirements.
Waste Management Guidelines
The avoidance and recycling of waste has become an important topic of discussion and a serious challenge for the abattoir industry. It was determined that compliance with changing legislation has become a serious challenge to the meat industry. There exists a need to explore new methodologies in order to reduce the risk of disease, prevent environmental pollution and ensure that changing legislation requirements are met. Therefore a detailed literature review, surveys, technology transfer and specific research on waste management practices of the feedlot and abattoir industry is needed to ensure the industry can make informed decisions.
Animal Handling Guidelines
The humane treatment of animals is a real concern and the RMAA in conjunction with NSPCA compiled an Animal Handling Guideline. The guidelines may be used as part of the requirements for animal handlers to be trained and may reduce inhumane treatment and increase quality if implemented at abattoirs.
7. Abattoir plans
Standard abattoir plans for high and low throughput red meat abattoirs may be purchased from the RMAA.