Meat Inspection and Slaughter Solutions

Meat Inspection and Interventions to Control Biological Hazards in Pig Abattoirs in the European Union

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Abstract

Traditional meat inspection developed in the 19th century was used practically unchanged throughout the 20th century. It focused on controlling classical zoonoses which, however, became eradicated or rare in modern times. Currently, the main food safety risks associated with carcasses of slaughtered pigs include bacterial pathogens faecally excreted by healthy pigs. Because these “invisible” agents are undetectable by traditional meat inspection, it has been recognised that official meat inspection needs to be revised regarding better protection of public health via meat including pork. Accordingly, in the EU, a set of new legislation was introduced in 2004 (“food hygiene package”), which adopted novel key principles for modernised meat inspection. They focused on the use of risk assessment-based systems, verified through auditing mechanisms, as they have better potential to protect public health than traditional inspection. To help that and better link different players in the meat chain in achieving the common ultimate goal, safe meat, the use of Food Chain Information (FCI) was introduced. The main responsibility for meat safety was placed on the food business operator (FBO). Subsequently, to further improve the concept and the legislation, the EU Commission indicated its intention to use a generic framework, including appropriate indicators (criteria), which would allow Member States (MSs) to conduct their own risk analysis and adapt, where needed and possible, the most appropriate meat inspection methods. Accordingly, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) implemented a large scientific effort to identify directions for improvements to meat inspection, with clear focus on carcass meat safety and with the ultimate goal of better public health protection. In 2011, this resulted in EFSA’s key scientific recommendations for improved meat inspection of pigs, to be achieved through a riskbased, comprehensive and coordinated carcass meat safety assurance system targeting the most relevant (priority) meat-borne hazards. The scope of this contribution is to overview the scientific principles, current status and perspectives of the work towards such improvements in the EU.

How to Cite:

Blagojevic, B., Alban, L. & Buncic, S., (2019) “Meat Inspection and Interventions to Control Biological Hazards in Pig Abattoirs in the European Union”, SafePork 13(1), 42–45. doi: https://doi.org//safepork.11146