07/10/24 Charges for abattoir inspections, water management

Farming Today

Plans to get abattoirs to take on more of the cost of vets and meat inspectors are "excessive and dangerous" according to the meat industry. The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers, (AIMS) which represents both big and small slaughterhouses, says the Food Standards Agency's proposal to remove or reduce the discount offered to smaller abattoirs risks "single handedly destroying the foundations of the British meat industry".' The FSA, which covers England, Northern Ireland and Wales, has issued a "call for evidence" on the proposed changes, saying that the costs of providing inspectors and official vets have increased and that needs to be passed onto businesses.

All week we're going to look at water management. After a year that has seen storms and vast amounts of flooding, how we respond to weather events in future as the climate changes is a hot topic. We speak to one of the scientists leading a new, government funded research project. Using cutting edge technology the new Flood and Drought Research Infrastructure will measure flooding and droughts to create models that will allow us to predict them, and to find out how we might be able to reduce their impact in the future.

Presenter = Charlotte Smith Producer = Rebecca Rooney