The trade association representing abattoirs and processors has launched a legal challenge against the Food Standards Agency's new meat inspection charges.
The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS) warned that the FSA's removal of the discount regime could devastate the UK's meat sector.
Roythornes Solicitors, acting for AIMS, have commenced legal action challenging the charges, which are set to come into effect next month.
“There are two reasons why we have taken this decision,” explained Peter Hewson, who is the veterinary director at AIMS.
“Firstly, the FSA’s insistence on focusing any discussion on the meat charges 'subsidy' rather than looking for the causes of the excessively high charges.
“Secondly, the scale of the increase in charges to be introduced from April which will see them rise by 11% for the industry as a whole and charges for medium sized abattoirs increase by 25%”.
AIMS, which is the UK’s largest post-farm gate trade body representing abattoirs and processors, has frequently warned that the FSA's removal of the discount regime could devastate over half of the UK's meat sector.
Official veterinarians and meat hygiene inspectors inspect every animal and carcase to ensure regulations are complied with and that the meat is fit for human consumption.
Charges are currently discounted according to the number of hours involved so that smaller abattoir businesses, which require fewer hours regulation, receive a greater discount.
Counsel have advised that three issues should be included in AIMS' legal challenge.
The first is that FSA has included costs in its calculation of the new hourly rates of £65.90 for an official veterinarian (OV) and £43.20 for a meat hygiene inspector (MHI) that cannot lawfully be included.
Secondly, counsel says it is impossible to ascertain what elements of the charges are 'costs connected with' official controls, rather than the chargeable costs of exercising the official controls themselves, which is non-compliant with the requirement for a high level of transparency.
And thirdly, that charges for enforcement activity go beyond the recovery of expenses that the regulations provide for.
Mr Hewson concluded: “Our letter asks that the FSA to strip out all costs from its hourly rates that cannot be lawfully charged, and we urge them to relook at their calculations”.
