Improvement of production standards in a company leader in the poultry meat market: the competent authority's role

The object of this study was to evaluate, in a company that is leader in the production of poultry meat, the effects of the combined action between the official veterinary controls and the food business operator (FBO) on corporate manufacturing standards. To this purpose, the corporate documentation have been examined (inspection reports and audits of official veterinary controls and data obtained by self-control procedures) on a four-year period between 2008 and 2011. The results obtained showed that, despite the application of specific procedures by the FBO, the competent authority has observed a number of non-compliances, grouped into four main areas: cleaning and disinfection, maintenance in the plant, staff training, management of animal by-products. The immediate response of the FBO for the resolution of the non-compliances resulted in an overall significant improvement in hygiene and safety of products and processes, a gradually reduced number of non-compliance reports, a decrease of all microbiological parameters and the extension of products’ shelf life.