Incision of the heart during meat inspection of fattening pigs – A risk-profile approach

During abattoir meat inspection pig carcasses are partially or fully condemned upon detection of disease that poses a risk to public health or welfare conditions that cause animal suffering e.g. fractures. This incurs direct financial losses to producers and processors. Other health and welfare-related conditions may not result in condemnation but can necessitate ‘trimming’ of the carcass e.g. bruising, and result in financial losses to the processor. Since animal health is a component of animal welfare these represent a clear link between suboptimal pig welfare and financial losses to the pig industry.Meat inspection data can be used to inform herd health programmes, thereby reducing the risk of injury and disease and improving production efficiency. Furthermore, meat inspection has the potential to contribute to surveillance of animal welfare. Such data could contribute to reduced losses to producers and processors through lower rates of carcass condemnations, trimming and downgrading in conjunction with higher pig welfare standards on farm. Currently meat inspection data are under-utilised in the EU, even as a means of informing herd health programmes. This includes the island of Ireland but particularly the Republic.This review describes the current situation with regard to meat inspection regulation, method, data capture and utilisation across the EU, with special reference to the island of Ireland. It also describes the financial losses arising from poor animal welfare (and health) on farms. This review seeks to contribute to efforts to evaluate the role of meat inspection as a surveillance tool for animal welfare on-farm, using pigs as a case example.

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“…[16]. Hence proposed changes include reducing routine post-mortem MI to only include visual techniques [17,18]. …”

Section: Legislative Provisions For Abattoir MI In the Eu With Speciamentioning

confidence: 99%

Good animal welfare makes economic sense: potential of pig abattoir meat inspection as a welfare surveillance tool

Harley

Boyle

et al. 2012

Ir Vet J

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“…In Australia, the food‐safety hazards potentially present in pigs at slaughter were evaluated, with the results highlighting the need to revise the role of traditional inspection techniques . A study focusing on the practice of incising pig hearts during postmortem inspection concluded that it was likely to increase risks to human health through exposure to Streptococcus suis and Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae . Recent experimental work has also cast doubt on the benefits of the time‐honoured practice of scrutinising beef carcases for cysticerca ( T. bovis cysts); not only is the technique insensitive, but anatomical locations hitherto regarded as predilection sites (and thus emphasised at inspection e.g.…”

Section: Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meat inspection in the Australian red‐meat industries: past, present and future

Webber¹,

Dobrenov

Lloyd³

et al. 2012

Aust Veterinary J

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Postmortem inspection of carcases and offal has been a cornerstone of consumer protection in the red-meat industry for over a century. In 2011, there began strong moves to reform the traditional process of meat inspection applied to cattle, sheep and goats in Australia. A major motivation was the widespread acceptance that organoleptic inspection does little to control the most important hazards in meat products - microbial pathogens derived from gut flora. The watershed reforms in international trade provided another incentive by encouraging the application of a risk-based approach to food safety, which allows for the discontinuation of processes that do not enhance public health outcomes. As well, there was a strong imperative to ensure that resources allocated to quality assurance delivered maximum economic benefit for both consumers and processors. This review discusses how the role of meat inspection is likely to evolve into the future under the influence of these forces. It summarises how the current system was derived through repeated modification over time, mainly to satisfy the requirements of trading partners. Major developments are summarised, focusing especially on how the inclusion of particular organoleptic techniques was initially justified and the relevance of these to modern meat production. Overall, analysis of past and present practices suggests that in the future both public health and efficiency will be better served by strategically integrating the most effective elements of traditional organoleptic inspection with information from the preslaughter period and the use of modern technology for rapid and accurate detection of hazards.

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