Pork meat and processed pork products have been the sources of outbreaks of listeriosis in France and in other European countries during the last decade. The aim of this review is to understand how contamination, survival and growth of Listeria monocytogenes can occur in pork meat products. This study discusses the presence of L. monocytogenes in raw pork meat, in the processing environment and in finished products. The prevalence of L. monocytogenes generally increases from the farm to the manufacturing plants and this mainly due to cross‐contamination. In many cases, this pathogen is present in raw pork meat at low or moderate levels, but foods involved in listeriosis outbreaks are those in which the organism has multiplied to reach levels significantly higher than 1000 CFU g−1. In such cases, L. monocytogenes has been able to survive and/or to grow despite the hurdles encountered during the manufacturing and conservation processes. Accordingly, attention must be paid to the design of food‐processing equipment and to the effectiveness of the cleaning and disinfecting procedures in factories. Finally, the production of safe pork meat products is based on the implementation of general preventive measures such as Good Hygiene Practices, Good Manufacturing and the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point.

No abstract

No abstract

The red poultry mite, Dermanyssus gallinae, is one of the most economically deleterious ecto-parasites of layer hens worldwide. D. gallinae is difficult to eliminate from infested poultry farms, and even to study, because it resides on the host only during the bloodmeal at night, and hides in the crevices of poultry houses during the day. Here, the life-cycle of D. gallinae was reproduced entirely in vitro. Mites were incubated in a glass pipette at 30 degrees C, 60-95 degrees relative humidity and total darkness. A feeding apparatus, composed of a membrane, reservoir and blood was fitted on the pipette during bloodmeals. We tested feeding rates on blood mixed with 1 of 3 anti-coagulants (EDTA, heparin and trisodium citrate) at different concentrations, and biological and artificial membranes. The best engorgement and survival rates for all 3 haematophagous life-stages of the parasite were observed in 1-day-old chick membranes and heparinized (0.02 mmo/ml) blood. We then describe the steps in developing a complete self-sustaining in vitro life-cycle. A colony of mites was maintained in vitro for 7 generations. Losses in the first generation were heavy, but survival had multiplied 5-fold by the fifth generation. We hypothesize that heavy mortality rates during the first life-cycle correspond to selective pressure: only the mites which fed and survived in vitro were able to reproduce.

Health organizations worldwide have advocated that treatment records be required to show that antibiotics are used prudently by veterinarians and farmers alike. In 2000, the French government passed legislation making a farm register mandatory for all farms that raise animals for food production. The farm register is a comprehensive record designed to track all animal movements, treatments, and veterinary interventions on the farm. We conducted a survey to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of dairy farmers toward the farm register, with particular emphasis on recording of antibiotic treatments. The 43 farmers interviewed belonged to veterinary health cooperatives. All farmers correctly named an antibiotic or antibiotic preparation, yet only 2 recognized the 5 components of the farm register. Farmer attitudes toward the register were globally positive, even though they named a wide variety of constraints. Nevertheless, 72% of farmers interviewed had a permanent health record, and approximately half had recorded either the last treatment (irrespective of drug class) or the last intramammary tube administered. Results were discussed in the light of health behavior change models that are applied in human medicine. We suggest that programs that seek compliance with the farm register should focus on educational interventions and bonus incentives.