HMS Support

Hygiene Management Systems (HMS) must be implemented at all South African abattoirs. The system established is based on the Regulations under the Meat Safety Act, 2000 (Act no 40 of 2000).

The HMS comprises the following components:

• Control measures or programs to monitor identified control points.
• Methods of monitoring or checking these control points.
• Relevant records of observations, checks, measurements or results.
• Sampling programs for laboratory analyses.
• Corrective actions
• Hygiene Assessment Systems (HAS) reports.
• Hygiene Management Programs (HMP’s) for the respective operational procedures at the abattoir.

Some document preparation is conducted at the RMAA offices but the site is visited for a few days in order to incorporate the existing system into a new system or to create a new system altogether. An electronic version is left at the abattoir to ensure any changes and updates can be made by the abattoir. Abattoir management is trained in the operation of the system.