Green offal inspection of cattle, small ruminants and pigs in the United Kingdom: Impact assessment of changes in the inspection protocol on likelihood of detection of selected hazards

Blagojević, Bojan; Dadios, Nikolaos; Reinmann, Karin; Guitian, Javier; Stärk, Katharina D.C.

doi:10.1016/j.rvsc.2015.03.032

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The analytical results agree with an assessment of risk associated with changes in meat inspections conducted by the Danish Agriculture and Food Council in 2014 [ 16 ], which found higher sensitivity for visual inspections than traditional inspections. Hill in 2013 [ 17 ], Mousing in 1997 [ 18 ] and Blagojevich in 2015 [ 19 ] also stressed that switching to visual inspection in pigs does not imply an increase in risk, even if the pigs are raised outdoors. Figure 2 graphically represents the differences between the two inspection systems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and test of a visual-only meat inspection system for heavy pigs in Northern Italy

et al. 2018

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BackgroundThere is a general consensus in recognizing that traditional meat inspection is no longer able to address the hazards related to meat consumption. Moreover, it has been shown that invasive procedures, such as palpation and incision, can increase microbial contamination in carcasses. For these reasons, legislations all over the world are changing meat inspection techniques, moving towards visual-only techniques. Hence, there was also the need to test visual-only inspection in pigs in Italy.ResultsA protocol for visual-only post-mortem inspection was produced together with a 24-class scheme used to record pathological lesions. A list of guidelines needed for univocal interpretation and classification of lesions was developed. To record lesions at the slaughtering line, a light instrument that is resistant to the slaughter environment was designed and then produced in collaboration with an electro-medical company. Six contracted veterinarians were chosen and trained. They performed visual-only post-mortem inspections on 231.673 heavy pigs in three different slaughterhouses of Northern Italy. Visual-only inspection was compared to traditional inspection on 38.819 pig carcasses. No relevant differences were found between the two systems.ConclusionsThe comparison between traditional and visual-only inspection showed that visual-only inspection can be adopted in pig slaughterhouse. The analysis of the performance of the veterinarians stressed the importance of standardization and continuous education for veterinarians working in this field.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and test of a visual-only meat inspection system for heavy pigs in Northern Italy

et al. 2018

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“…pneumonia, abscesses, endocarditis and pericarditis) are mostly caused by non-zoonotic agents and those that are zoonotic, are mainly occupational, not foodborne risks. Therefore, the reduced visibility does not lead to increased food safety risk, as shown in various studies (Alban et al 2008;Hill et al 2013;Pacheco et al 2013;Tongue et al 2013;Kruse et al 2015;Blagojevic et al 2015;Ghidini et al 2018). To fulfill the legislative requirement to inspect all external surfaces, different technical solutions may be used, such as mirrors or systems that rotate carcases to allow visibility to all carcase surfaces (Tongue et al 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As passive surveillance, Evira recommended that in cases of pronounced or generalized mycobacterium-like lesions, samples should be sent for further identification of the causative agent (Evira 2015). Blagojevic et al (2015) estimated that the change from traditional to visual inspection decreases the likelihood to detect the present lesions caused by Mycobacterium spp. in the intestines and related lymph nodes from low to negligible.…”

Section: Additional Palpations and Incisionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Views of veterinarians and meat inspectors concerning the practical application of visual meat inspection on domestic pigs in Finland

Laukkanen‐Ninios

Rahkila

Oivanen

et al. 2019

J Consum Prot Food Saf

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The post-mortem inspection of domestic pigs within the European Union was revised in 2014, primarily to include visual meat inspection of each carcase and offal. Palpations and incisions were removed from routine meat inspection procedures, as they are mostly used to detect pathological lesions caused by organisms irrelevant for public health, and instead can cause cross-contamination of carcases with foodborne pathogens. However, examination of all external surfaces of the carcase and organs, declaration of patho-physiological lesions as unfit for human consumption, and possibility for minimal handling of carcases and offals were held in place. In addition, the European Food Safety Authority suggested that palpation and incisions should be performed outside the slaughter line, but this was not incorporated in the revised legislation. We surveyed in 2014 the opinions of meat inspectors and veterinarians using an online questionnaire to determine what practical measures are required for the visual meat inspection procedure and when meat inspection staff consider additional palpations and incisions necessary. Based on the survey, turning the carcase and organs or technical arrangements such as mirrors were seen necessary to view all external surfaces. In addition, the pluck set cannot be trimmed on the side line. Local lesions, such as abscesses and lesions in the lymph nodes, signs of systemic infection and lymphoma, were the major lesions requiring additional post-mortem meat inspection procedures. Meat inspection personnel raised concerns on the poor quality of food chain information and export requirements demanding palpations and incisions. The efficient use of visual meat inspection requires legislation to better support the implementation and application of it, changes in the slaughter line layout and a possibility to classify incoming pig batches based on their risk.

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“…In addition to the benefits mentioned above, a lower number of inspections and hence less incision of tissues, would not only reduce the cost of inspection but could also the chance of microbial contamination due to a reduction in the handling of muscles and organs at meat inspection. The most important meat-borne hazards today are Campylobacter , Salmonella , Yersinia and verotoxigenic Escherichia coli which can be introduced during excessive handling of muscles and cannot be detected using the traditional palpation-incision method [ 26 ]. Not conducting palpation and incision to look for T. saginata cysticercus cysts in half a million animals (Scenario A) may have a positive public health impact due to reduction in cross-contamination; the resources thus freed could be used elsewhere to protect public health.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk-based inspection as a cost-effective strategy to reduce human exposure to cysticerci of Taenia saginata in low-prevalence settings

et al. 2018

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BackgroundTaenia saginata cysticercus is the larval stage of the zoonotic parasite Taenia saginata, with a life-cycle involving both cattle and humans. The public health impact is considered low. The current surveillance system, based on post-mortem inspection of carcasses has low sensitivity and leads to considerable economic burden. Therefore, in the interests of public health and food production efficiency, this study aims to explore the potential of risk-based and cost-effective meat inspection activities for the detection and control of T. saginata cysticercus in low prevalence settings.MethodsBuilding on the findings of a study on risk factors for T. saginata cysticercus infection in cattle in Great Britain, we simulated scenarios using a stochastic scenario tree model, where animals are allocated to different risk categories based on their age, sex and movement history. These animals underwent different types of meat inspection (alternative or current) depending on their risk category. Expert elicitation was conducted to assess feasibility of scenarios and provide data for economic analysis. The cost-effectiveness of these scenarios was calculated as an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, using the number of infected carcasses detected as the technical outcome.ResultsTargeting the high-risk population with more incisions into the heart while abandoning incisions into the masseter muscles was found to reduce the total number of inspections and cost, while simultaneously increasing the number of infected carcasses found.ConclusionsThe results suggest that, under reasonable assumptions regarding potential improvements to current inspection methods, a more efficient and sensitive meat inspection system could be used on animals categorised according to their risk of harbouring T. saginata cysticercus at slaughter. Such a system could reduce associated cost to the beef industry and lower microbial contamination of beef products, improving public health outcomes.

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Green offal inspection of cattle, small ruminants and pigs in the United Kingdom: Impact assessment of changes in the inspection protocol on likelihood of detection of selected hazards

Cited by 11 publications

References 10 publications

Development and test of a visual-only meat inspection system for heavy pigs in Northern Italy

Development and test of a visual-only meat inspection system for heavy pigs in Northern Italy

Views of veterinarians and meat inspectors concerning the practical application of visual meat inspection on domestic pigs in Finland

Risk-based inspection as a cost-effective strategy to reduce human exposure to cysticerci of Taenia saginata in low-prevalence settings

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