Advances and research in biotechnology have applications over a wide range of areas, such as microbiology, medicine, the food industry, agriculture, genetically modified organisms, and nanotechnology, among others. However, research with pathogenic agents, such as virus, parasites, fungi, rickettsia, bacterial microorganisms, or genetic modified organisms, has generated concern because of their potential biological risk – not only for people, but also for the environment due to their unpredictable behavior. In addition, concern for biosafety is associated with the emergence of new diseases or re-emergence of diseases that were already under control. Biotechnology laboratories require biosafety measures designed to protect their staff, the population, and the environment, which may be exposed to hazardous organisms and materials. Laboratory staff training and education is essential, not only to acquire a good understanding about the direct handling of hazardous biological agents but also knowledge of the epidemiology, pathogenicity, and human susceptibility to the biological materials used in research. Biological risk can be reduced and controlled by the correct application of internationally recognized procedures such as proper microbiological techniques, proper containment apparatus, adequate facilities, protective barriers, and special training and education of laboratory workers. To avoid occupational infections, knowledge about standardized microbiological procedures and techniques and the use of containment devices, facilities, and protective barriers is necessary. Training and education about the epidemiology, pathogenicity, and biohazards of the microorganisms involved may prevent or decrease the risk. In this way, the scientific community may benefit from the lessons learned in the past to anticipate future problems.

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Food labelling is a means of communication between food business operators and consumers, representing an important factor in consumer purchasing decisions. The enforcement of the new food labelling policy is aimed to improve food safety and public health through the mandatory indication of information and nutritional values. To understand the usefulness of the information provided for consumers, a survey was carried out to assess the efficacy of the information presented in food labelling. Principal component analysis was performed to obtain a smaller number of uncorrelated factors regarding the usefulness of food labelling. Results showed consumers usually do not read food labels due to lack of time and excessive information. Additionally, food labelling was observed to be more useful for specific consumer groups, such as, athletes, consumers with health conditions or consumers concerned with a healthy lifestyle. The results of the present study highlight the need of information campaigns by public health authorities to show the importance and advantages of reading food labels as well as the development of essential information which should be quickly and clearly seen and understood by consumers.

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Ante mortem and post mortem carcass condemnation records could be of use as a potential database for the study of swine diseases, epidemiology or animal welfare. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the causes of ante mortem rejections and post mortem carcass condemnation of pigs intended for human consumption during a 78-month period. The records considered for study were, date of slaughter, total pigs slaughtered and total number of ante mortem rejections (deaths during transportation and deaths in the pens) and post mortem carcass condemnations (osteomyelitis, caseous lymphadenitis, erysipelas, cachexia, pale, soft and exudative meat (PSE), bloody meat, muscular necrosis, purulent nephritis, purulent metritis, jaundice, meats from febrile pigs and peritonitis). The influence of several factors such as year, season, mandatory fulfilment of a food chain information form (FCIf ) and compulsory certification of swine drivers/transporters on ante mortem rejections and post mortem carcass condemnation was also studied. A total of 161 001 pigs slaughtered resulted in 238 (0.15%) ante mortem deaths, 160 763 pigs processed for meat consumption (99.7%) and 392 (0.24%) carcass condemnations. The ante mortem rejections revealed that 146 pigs (61.3%) died during transportation whereas 92 (38.7%) were rejected due to death in pens. The main causes of carcass condemnations were osteomyelitis (38.5%), granulomatous lymphadenitis (22.7%) and pleurisy/pneumonia (21.2%). A relationship was found between the month and ante mortem condemnations (P < 0.01), death losses during transport (P < 0.01) and between compulsory certification of animal transporters and deaths by transportation (P < 0.05). During the cold season, the probability of ante mortem rejections (OR = 1.84; CI 95%: 1.32-2.59) and death in pens (OR = 1.62; CI 95%: 1.02-2.57) was higher. The compulsory fulfilment of a food chain information form was not revealed to be significantly linked with the total number of carcass condemnations although the odds of ante mortem rejections were higher (OR = 2.10; CI 95%: 1.44-3.08) when it was not mandatory. Higher post mortem condemnations compared to ante mortem condemnations can be explained by the fact that several post mortem findings are asymptomatic in live animals. A progressive decrease in losses during transport was associated with on-farm improvements in animal welfare measures in addition with compulsory training of animal transporters. However, the consistent values of deaths in pens throughout the study period, with an increase during the winter, indicate a need for an improvement in the thermal conditions of the holding area in slaughterhouse. Regarding the post mortem condemnations, the improvement in animal welfare conditions may explain the decrease in osteomyelitis condemnations while the environmental origin of granulomatous lymphadenitis may be associated with region, climate or with the presence of hosts that may explain the influence of the time of year on its variations. The FCIf was i...