Best hygiene practices on pig farms: feedback on the food chain, transportability, and salmonella action plans

Recent European rules regarding food safety and animal welfare during transport involve new responsibilities for the different sectors of the pork industry and in particular for the farmers. Thus, Hygiene Package advises to use a Good Hygiene Practice Guide in each farm in order to prevent hazards transferable in meat. Moreover, farmers will have to convey to the slaughterhouse and to the Veterinary Services some pertinent information regarding food safety (Food Chain Information) and animal welfare in transport. Concerned animals will be clearly identified and their pre-slaughter and post-slaughter veterinary checks will be adapted. The official application of this policy is planned for January 2010, after the publication of the Ministerial order. Besides, concerning the control of Salmonella in the pork industry, no European decision is yet made, but the most common vision consists in applying good hygiene practices as described in the Guides respectively proposed to the farmers and the slaughter and meat cutting industry. Other propositions will have to be made in the different parts of the pig chain industry, in order to reach the target of prevalence probably specified by the European Commission. So, it clearly appears that all these questions are closely linked. IFIP has participated, with the professional organizations and the representatives of each sector, to define shared systems, in order to help the farmers to apply these recent European rules as easily and efficiently as possible.