In his keynote address to the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS) 25th anniversary conference, executive director Dr Jason Aldiss BEM appealed for changes to the meat inspection regulatory regime.
The AIMS annual conference on 25th April took place in London’s Butchers’ Hall, with guest speakers including Katie Pettifer, Food Standards Agency (FSA) chief executive, Graham Wilkinson, Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) CEO, and founder of Dingley Dell Pork Nick Evans.
The theme for the conference this year was ‘Change’ and AIMS executive director Jason Aldiss delivered a keynote address in which he urged for a remodelling of the meat inspection system, claiming that, currently, the regime “creates risk” rather than “improving outcomes”.
“Intelligent regulation”
Aldiss said: “Let us say it plainly: meat inspection, in its current form, does not protect the public. It is an expensive anachronism. Worse – it creates risk. It disrupts modern hygienic practice. It consumes resource. It clings to myth.
“We are told that without these rituals, consumers would be poisoned. That without official supervision, we would descend into chaos and contamination. We know this to be utter nonsense.
“We produce the safest, best-quality meat in the world – not because we are made to, but because we want to. Because we take pride in our craft. Because we know that trust, once lost, is never easily regained. What we do not need is a veterinary regime that micromanages our operations like an occupying force. That parasites off our productivity. That sees its purpose as maintaining the status quo, not improving outcomes.”
“This is a call – not for deregulation – but for intelligent regulation. For true partnership. For science, not ceremony.”
Jason Aldiss, executive director at AIMS
He continued: “At a time when the Chancellor and His Majesty’s Government are placing growth, innovation, and deregulation at the heart of their agenda, there is a real opportunity – indeed a duty – for our regulatory sector to lead by example.
“This is a call – not for deregulation – but for intelligent regulation. For true partnership. For science, not ceremony. For evidence, not entitlement.”
FSA chief executive Katie Pettifer followed with a speech addressing a range of issues facing the meat industry, including future regulation, new technology, and the modernisation of meat controls.
Pettifer highlighted the importance of the meat industry to the UK’s food supply chain, noting that it is worth more than £10 billion to the economy and that the quality of British Meat is recognised around the world. She talked about the future of meat regulation, new technology and modernisation, international trade, and food crime, and gave an update on the FSA’s charging structure.
Acknowledging the ups and downs of the relationship between FSA and AIMS, she said that it was important that they work together to “support the British meat industry with efficient regulation and keep the public protected”.
Pettifer added: “Providing safe and trusted food is very much a joint endeavour. I know many meat businesses go to great lengths to make sure the food you sell is safe and is what it says it is.
“The part the FSA plays is important too – activities like checking animals for signs of disease before and after slaughter, ensuring animal welfare standards are being upheld, signing off certificates for export.
“I’m not going to apologise for doing all we can in that work to keep standards high, and to maintain the trust of the public, and our trading partners.
“But we should always be looking for ways to do this job better at the FSA – to keep strong protection for consumers and to improve the regulatory services we provide to businesses. I know AIMS have plenty of suggestions on how we should do that. We may not always agree, and we may not be able to do everything you want, but we need to keep that dialogue going.”
A full transcript of the speech can be found here.
AHDB chair Graham Wilkinson continued with the theme of change in his speech, in which he described the structural updates that had been made to the organisation in order to better measure and react to changes in the industry and champion British meat.
Closing the speeches, Nick Evans of Dingley Dell Pork gave an overview of how his Suffolk pork farming business has been able to produce higher marbled welfare-friendly pork through its breeding programme to improve the taste of the meat.
John Thorley OBE, AIMS chairman, took to the stage to give two presentations. The prestigious Royal Smithfield Bicentenary Trophy was awarded to Chris Dodds, executive secretary of the Livestock Auctioneers Association, for his contribution to the British meat and livestock industry. The citation, read by John Thorley, included mention of how Dodds acted tirelessly on behalf of the industry during Covid-related restrictions as well as other ”crises” such as the foot and mouth outbreak and avian influenza.
Finally, AIMS founder and head of policy Norman Bagley was presented with a statuette in recognition of the long-standing commitment he has made to AIMS and to the meat sector as a whole. The porcelain figure is mounted on a plinth inscribed with the words “with the heartfelt thanks of a grateful meat and livestock industry for developing AIMS”.
