Regulatory authorities are facing increasing challenges with respect to the newly-recognised public health risks associated with meat products. Meat inspection resources should be allocated according to their maximum ability to reduce food-borne hazards, rather than according to the classical rules of meat inspection. Scientific evaluation of routine post-mortem inspection procedures for each class of livestock, introduction of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point approach to process control, on-line testing for microbiological hazards and residues, and effective management of production, processing and inspection data are central to this process. The meat inspection system that has evolved in New Zealand reflects a response to non-scientific forces such as market requirements and industrial practices rather than scientific discipline. In the future, the daily routine of meat inspectors will be extended well beyond their current slaughterfloor responsibilities, and veterinarians will require specialist skills. Science should be the basis for international food regulation and policy concepts such as equivalence or mutual acceptance are achievable on this basis. (New Zealand Veterinary Journal 39,1–7, 1991)