Manual for official controls
Legal requirements and standards for approved meat establishments.
Once your premises have been approved, you will find the Manual for Official Controls (MOC) beneficial for further information.
The MOC describes the tasks, responsibilities and duties of our staff carrying out official controls in approved establishments.
Manual for Official Controls guidance
The Manual for Official Controls documentation is accurate as of 16 December 2024. Recent changes to the MOC can be found in the revision log.
Northern Ireland
The MOC describes the tasks, responsibilities and duties of DAERA officials carrying out official controls in approved establishments on behalf of us. This is maintained and updated by DAERA and can be found on their website.
References to EU legislation in FSA guidance
Directly applicable EU legislation no longer applies in GB. EU legislation retained when the UK exited the EU became assimilated law on 1 January 2024, published on legislation.gov.uk. References to any legislation in FSA guidance with ‘EU’ or ‘EC’ in the title (e.g. Regulation (EC) 178/2002) should now be regarded as assimilated law where applicable to GB. References to ‘Retained EU Law’ or ‘REUL’ should now be regarded as references to assimilated law.
For businesses moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, information on the Windsor Framework is available on GOV.UK.
The Windsor Framework was adopted by the UK and EU on 24 March 2023. The Framework provides a unique set of arrangements to support the flow of agrifood retail products from Great Britain (GB) to Northern Ireland (NI), allowing GB standards for public health in relation to food, marketing and organics to apply for pre-packed retail goods moved via the NI Retail Movement Scheme (NIRMS).
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
Temporary Operational Instructions
Manual for Official Controls revision log
The following revisions to Manual for Official Controls documentation have been made as of 16 December 2024.
Chapter 2.1
- Section 2.1.7 - Removal of a Note concerning antimicrobials and their impact on Salmonella NCP sampling
- Formatting updated on whole document, page numbers may have changed in PDF due to page breaks being deleted. Note on annexe access edited
Chapter 2.3
- Section 1.2.1 - Add Wales CCTV regulations
- Section 1.2.4 - EU and GB transport guide hyperlinks added
- Section 2.2.5 - Amend guidance on back up in religious slaughter of poultry
- Section 2.5 - Add newly agreed procedure for movement of oversize / large horned animals to another slaughterhouse
- Section 3.1.6 & 5.3 - Reference to 7.1.5 to extend a WEN made
- Section 3.3.1 - Update contact details for APHA
- Section 3.3.4 - Remove last sentence under "FSA responsibility"
- Section 3.3.4.1 - Add last sentence from 3.3.4
- Section 4.1.5 - Remove paragraph 7 ref equipment January 2013, change in legislation and coming into force date
- Section 5 - Remove reference to coming into force dates for Welsh legislation at start of Chapter
- Section 5.2 - Add a sentence on the recording of CCTV on mobile phones as per enforcement chapter
- Section 5.4 - Update First Tier Tribunal contact details to include Wales appeals
- Section 6.4.1 - Change contact details for First Tier Tribunal
- Section 7.1.5 - Add instructions on extending a CCTV EN
- Formatting updated on whole document, page numbers may have changed in PDF due to page breaks being deleted. Note on annexe access edited
Chapter 2.4
- Section 3.1.5 - resolved conflicting guidance regarding the skinning of heads
- Formatting updated on whole document, page numbers may have changed in PDF due to page breaks being deleted. Note on annexe access edited
Chapter 2.8
- Section 1.1.5 – Minor amendment clarifying the role of SRM
- Section 1.5.1 - Clarification on definition as it was misleading: not all cat 3 can go for pet food
- Section 1.5.4 - Clarification about the need for VEDM to sign ABP notices
- Section 1.5.8 - Clarification of what cat 3 can go for pet food and for raw pet food
- Section 3.1.2 - Enforcement process to include VEDM as agreed with Defra
- Section 3.2.1 - Clarification that HACCP based procedures are also needed when there is collocated pet food production
- Section 3.2.3 - Inclusion of the requirement for staining certain cat 3 materials
- Section 3.2.7 - Legal reference for drain traps provided
- Section 3.2.12 - Change E-mail address for APHA Imports
- Section 3.2.13 - Update: EHC needed for exporting ABPs
- Section 3.2.15 - Category added to the title and changes in one of the notes
- Section 3.12.2 - e-mail address updated
- Section 5.1.2 - Role of the VEDM clarified
- Section 6 - Changes made in Annex 3 (ABP 7/3) and Annex 4 (ABP 7/1)
- Formatting updated on whole document, page numbers may have changed in PDF due to page breaks being deleted. Note on annexe access edited
- Annexes - Changes made in Annex 2, Annex 3 (ABP 7/3) and Annex 4 (ABP 7/1) to update emails and formatting
Chapter 2.12
- Section 3.2.2 - conflicting guidance regarding the skinning of heads
- Formatting updated on whole document, page numbers may have changed in PDF due to page breaks being deleted. Note on annexe access edited
Chapter 5.1
- Section 4 – Section on follow up samples added
- Formatting updated on whole document, page numbers may have changed in PDF due to page breaks being deleted. Note on annexe access edited
Chapter 6
- Formatting updated on whole document, page numbers may have changed in PDF due to page breaks being deleted. Note on annexe access edited
- Section 2.1.2 - Removal of broken links to clinical signs of notifiable diseases and addition of new links
- Section 2.2.1 - Amended contact number for APHA Wales Field services
- Section 6.1.2 - Removal of broken links to clinical signs of TSEs and addition of new links. Removal of incorrect additional outcomes of reporting suspicion of disease to APHA
- Section 6.2 - Removal of incorrect additional outcomes of reporting suspicion of disease to APHA
- Section 6.3 - Removal of incorrect additional outcomes of APHA vet investigation.
- Section 7.1.1 - In opening paragraph 'other mammals' expanded to include pigs, sheep and goats
- Section 7.3.10 - Clarification on the use of the movement licence TN24c
- Section 7.4.1 - Instructions amended to include non-bovine animals received from BTB restricted premises
- Section 7.5.1 - Added non-bovine moved under movement licence TN24c to the list for additional inspection
- Section 8.11.3 - Updated instructions to take in case of non-compliance with pre-designation/designation conditions.
- Section 10.1.1 - Updated disease information and control measures
- Section 10.1.2 - Clarification of BTV controlled zones and movement of livestock
- Section 10.2.1 - Added link to latest pictures of BTV clinical signs
- Section 10.2.2 - Removed repetition of actions to take following breaches of movement licence
- Section 10.3.2 - Updated contact details for queries in Movement licenses
- Section 10.4 - Added missing designation requirements
- Section 10.4.3 - Clarification about cleaning and disinfection procedures during BTV
- Section 10.6 - Updated instructions to take in case of non-compliance with licence and pre-designation/designation conditions
- Section 11 - Removal of broken links and addition to new working links throughout this section
- Annex 28 - Updated review of AI designation to align it with latest version of Annex 25
Chapter 7
- Formatting updated on whole document, page numbers may have changed in PDF due to page breaks being deleted. Note on annexe access edited
- Section 2.1.2 - Removal of duplicate text
- Section 2.6.2 - Changed web link reference to hyperlink
- Section 3.7 - Updated a sentence about enforcement of WATOK and use of CCTV
- Section 6.1 - Deletion of an erroneous link to the audit process on food.gov
- Annex 14 - formatting updated
- Annex 16 - formatting updated
- Annex 18 - Added Chapter number, updated formatting
- Annex 19 - Removal of text relating to differences between English and Welsh CCTV legislation. From December they are both harmonised regarding offences and use of formal notices. Inserted line about powers under CCTV in slaughterhouse legislation
- Annex 21 - Removed references to CCTV legislation not applying in Wales and harmonised the guidance across England and Wales on powers of officers
Revision log
Published: 11 April 2018
Last updated: 16 December 2024