Dr Jason Aldiss BEM, executive director of the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS), has called traditional meat inspection “a costly, century-old performance that does nothing to protect public health”.
Aldiss called on policymakers to “ditch outdated rituals and embrace modern science”, claiming that traditional meat inspection was “little more than a fig leaf”.
Dr Jason Aldiss BEM, AIMS executive director, commented: “As someone who has worked at the coalface of meat hygiene and veterinary public health for over 30 years, I can say with confidence what many inside the industry already know: traditional post-mortem inspection is scientifically obsolete.
“Nowadays we are fighting invisible threats: Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter – pathogens that leave no visible trace and cannot be detected by even the most skilled inspector using sight, touch, or smell alone.
“International bodies such as Codex Alimentarius, EFSA, and WOAH (formerly OIE) all acknowledge this reality.”
Aldiss went on to say that Codex explicitly calls for risk-based, science-led approaches, while WOAH has repeatedly stated that traditional inspection “does not address modern public health hazards”.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reportedly concluded that these practices not only fail to detect key microbial threats, but they also spread contamination.
Aldiss continued: “And yet here we are in the UK, still spending millions on antiquated inspection methods because the rules haven’t caught up with the science. That’s not good enough. The UK should be leading on food safety reform as this is a key part of this country’s meat proposition of being the best in the world.”
Aldiss highlighted that in New Zealand, plants were already using Veritide’s faecal detection technology:
“This is real-time fluorescence-based scanning that detects both visible and invisible contamination,” he added. “Unlike humans, it doesn’t get tired, doesn’t miss things, nor does it need a break or threaten to take strike action, and what’s more, it provides data that you can act on. In side-by-side comparisons, these systems outperform human inspectors every time.
Aldiss continued: “Why aren’t we using it here? Likewise, modern decontamination methods such as hot water washes, organic acid rinses, steam vacuuming etc can reduce microbial loads by up to 99%.
“These are real interventions with real outcomes. But they’re still viewed as optional extras instead of core public health tools. If we’re serious about food safety, this must change. Every time we sign off a carcass with a poke, a sniff, and a tick box, we are lulling ourselves into a false sense of security. It might look like food safety, but it isn’t. It’s little more than hygiene theatrics. And consumers deserve better.”
UK policymakers urged to support meat inspectors
Aldiss called on UK regulators and policymakers to “act immediately” and take five steps:
- Rewrite the rule book and replace outdated visual inspection requirements with outcome-based, risk-focused standards.
- Validate and back this with “meaningful” investment.
- Mandate scientifically proven decontamination interventions where appropriate.
- Retrain and repurpose the inspection workforce as high-tech auditors.
- Champion UK leadership in Codex and WOAH to push for global reform.
He concluded: “This isn’t about deregulation. It’s about intelligent regulation and making a shift from archaic rituals to real, measurable risk control.
“It’s about protecting consumers with science, not sentimentality. The world is watching. The UK can set the standard or stay stuck in the past. Let’s be the country that chooses progress.”
