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UK meat processors could soon be paying fees for plant inspections, if the food regulator's board this week approves proposals to do so.

The board of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) meets on 19 July in Cardiff to consider the final report on recommendations to reorganise the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) to make it more efficient.

The meat industry is more heavily regulated in the UK than the rest of the food industry and current meat hygiene controls cost the British tax payer about £30m (€44m) per year, according to the FSA.

One proposal favoured by the regulator is to create a "transformed" MHS, which would be required to reduce costs, improve productivity and build more effective partnerships with industry. The board has also proposed the development of principles for a new charging and cost-sharing structure.

In February this year, the board considered an interim report and agreed to set principles to implement charging and cost sharing. The reorganisation of the inspection service would also put the onus on meat processers to assume more responsibility for food safety.

Food businesss would have to implement effective Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans and to be fully accountable for compliance with regulations.

Plants with good safety records would face less external inspection and audits, under the programme.

Some of the work of checking meat processing plants might be turned over the private companies, under another proposal contained in a paper to be presented befor the board.

 "Meat plants come in all shapes and sizes with different needs and a 'one-size fits all' approach is unlikely to work best," the report stated.  "Allowing different organisations to work alongside a MHS to deliver meat inspection would allow more flexible responses to the sector's diversity, encourage innovation, provide an element of choice and comparison, open up more career opportunities for inspection staff and help the FSA to manage delivery risks."

The charges for inspections, whether by the MHS or by a private company, would be based on the time spent at a plant by veterinarians and meat inspectors.

The meat industry's has taken the position that companies should not pay more unless and until the overall costs of delivering official controls are reduced.

In a submission to an FSA public consultation on the issue, industry assocations asked that inspections and audits should be delivered at the current cost £23.4m.

In other business, John Harwood, the FSA's chief executive, will report that the regulator has filed new charges against Eurofreeze for regulatory offences.

A UK court last month voided a conviction against Eurofreeze following a declaration by the company secretary that she was unaware of the summons or proceedings relating to the case.

Since then a new summons has been signed by the magistrate and FSA is waiting confirmation that the summons has been served, Harwood will report.

Euro Freeze, a meat coldstore operation, was prosecuted by the Food Standards Agency Northern Ireland (FSANI) for offences under the hygiene regulations. The offences included use of the premises for a purpose for which it was not licensed and for illegally putting false health certificates on the meat products.

The company was fined £1,000 for each of the 13 breaches of the regulations.

Meanwhile two directors of a company involved in the Euro Freeze fraud case are going to jail for four months after being found guilty of breaching Ireland's food safety laws.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said Ciaran McCabe and Ann McCabe of DArcy Foods were convicted by County Monaghan District Court of 36 charges relating to the illegal use of a veterinary control label, and with tampering with documents related to a consignment of beef cheek meat.