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H > Food Business > Accreditation > Meat Scheme > Poultry Abattoir

Poultry Abattoir

If you are slaughtering, dressing, decontaminating, deboning and packing poultry meat for sale or supply into the food chain, then you require an accreditation with Safe Food Production Queensland (Safe Food).

These activities are classified as Processing under the Meat Scheme of the Food Production (Safety) Regulation 2014.

Other accreditations you may need

If you are only deboning and packing poultry meat, please refer to information about Meat Processing.

If you are transporting poultry meat to or from other businesses, then you will require an accreditation as a Transporter.

If you are storing poultry meat under active refrigeration at a different site to your processing facility, then you will require an accreditation as a Cold Store.

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Before you apply

If you intend to process meat or meat products, you must do so in an approved facility that meets the requirements of:

If your facility complies with these requirements and you wish to proceed with an application for accreditation, please see below for what to submit to Safe Food.

What should I submit with my application?

  • Application form

    Complete the Application form and select Processing (meat scheme) as your activity on page 2.

    Note: If you want to complete this form on your mobile or desktop, please download or save it first.

  • Payment of fees

    Fees and payment details can be viewed within the Application form.

  • Food Safety Program

    You must submit a Food Safety Program (FSP) with your application. A FSP documents the processes and procedures you will follow to minimise or eliminate food safety risks and ensure the food you produce is safe. This is a detailed document that covers all aspects of your business, from inputs, product descriptions and temperatures, right through to cleaning, maintenance and pest control. It involves a risk assessment to identify where any possible issues may arise, how to recognise these issues, what the acceptable limits are around each step, and what to do to rectify a food safety issue, should it occur.

    A FSP can be developed in partnership with a food safety consultant or your industry association. However, you are not obliged to use these.

  • Approval from local council

    You must provide written confirmation from your local council that you are permitted to undertake your proposed activities at the site from which you intend to operate.

  • Floor plan & photos

    Please submit a detailed floor plan and photos of your processing facility that show:

    • entry and exit points (indicated on floor plan)
    • staff amenities, like staff room, toilets, etc. (floor plan)
    • staff movement flows (floor plan)
    • vehicle wash areas (floor plan & photos)
    • hand washing facilities (floor plan & photos)
    • drains (floor plan & photos)
    • cool rooms/ refrigerators (floor plan & photos)
    • all equipment used, e.g. knives, racks, machinery, stunner, kill method, scalder, plucker, spin chillers, evisceration, truck wash facilities, packing machines, etc. (photos only)
  • Evidence of skills & knowledge

    You must provide written evidence that someone onsite has adequate skills and knowledge in post-mortem carcase inspection and disposition of poultry (e.g. training certificate, relevant on the job training or experience). This can be submitted as a written statement or included in your Food Safety Program.

  • Evidence of your PIC

    You must provide evidence of your Property Identification Code (PIC). Please contact Biosecurity Queensland for more information.

  • Animal welfare training

    You must provide evidence that you, or someone within your business, has completed an animal welfare training course.

  • Signed PSA Agreements

    You must submit a copy of any Preferred Supplier Arrangements (PSA) you have with poultry farms that supply live birds to you. As a processor, you are responsible for ensuring that these suppliers operate in accordance with your approved Food Safety Program, the Food Production (Safety) Act 2000 and the Food Production (Safety) Regulation 2014.

Submit your completed application to applications@safefood.qld.gov.au or PO Box 221, Greenslopes, Brisbane, QLD 4120.

When to apply

Under the Food Production (Safety) Act 2000, it is unlawful to engage in certain activities relating to primary production or processing of food until you have been granted an accreditation by Safe Food. As such, you should allow adequate time for your application to be reviewed by Safe Food before you begin operating.

Your application will aim to be assessed within 14 days, although applications submitted in their entirety (with all the items outlined above) are likely to be processed faster.

Upon submission of your application, a member of our Central Assessment Team will contact you for payment (if paying by credit card). Once payment has been received, your application will be assessed, and we will contact you if we require any further information.

You will be notified in writing about the outcome of your application (approved or refused).

Temporary Accreditations

As a meat processor, you will be undertaking activities deemed to be medium or high risk under the Food Production (Safety) Regulation 2014. As such, if your application is approved, you will be issued a temporary accreditation to start with.

A temporary accreditation is issued for a period of up to two months, prior to being considered for an open accreditation.

Under a temporary accreditation, you must have your food production system approved by Safe Food before you can begin supplying foods that pose a higher risk to consumers. Your level of risk will be determined based on what is documented in your Food Safety Program and compared against the Food Production (Safety) Regulation 2014.

If issued a temporary accreditation, you will be required to submit additional technical information to demonstrate that your nominated food safety controls are effective in maintaining compliance with the requirements of the Meat Scheme. This required information is in addition to the application process and will incur additional costs. A site audit must also be conducted by Safe Food.

You will be notified in writing if you are issued a temporary accreditation and what you need to supply.

For more information about temporary accreditation requirements, please contact us.

Fees

Fees are based on the activities you are carrying out and are outlined in the Application form.

New applications will incur a one-time application fee that is non-refundable.

Our accreditation period runs from 1st January – 31st December*. You will therefore need to renew your accreditation on an annual basis.

For more information, please refer to our fees & charges.

*Our fees are not pro-rata.

Standards & guidelines

Food Production (Safety) Regulation 2014
Food Production (Safety) Act 2000
Standard 4.2.2 – Primary Production and Processing Standard for Poultry Meat
AS 4465 – Australian Standard for Construction of Premises and Hygienic Production of Poultry Meat for Human Consumption
Food Standards Code, Standard 3.2.3 (Food Premises and Equipment)
Compendium of Microbiological Criteria for Food (FSANZ)
National Animal Welfare Standards for Chicken Meat Industry
Model Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals: Domestic Poultry
Safe Food Notifications Protocol
Listeria Management Guideline (Australian Meat Regulators Group)

Useful Websites & Resources

FSANZ
Food Safety Standards (Chapter 3 of the Food Standards Code)
Food Regulation Secretariat
Federal Register of Legislation
NATA Laboratories