Zoonotic Pathogens

The Entry of Listeria monocytogenes into the Food Chain via Slaughter Pigs

---

Abstract

Listeria monocytogenes is an important human foodborne pathogen and the causative agent of the rare but severe human listeriosis, which has a high mortality rate. Pregnant women, elderly and immunocompromised persons and newborns are particularly at risk. Listeria species are ubiquitous in the environment and frequently found in raw foods such as meat, vegetables, dairy products and delicatessen products intended for consumption without further heating (Allerberger and Huhulescu 2015; Allerberger 2007). During processing food can be cross-contaminated by the pathogen present in the processing environment. Many animals, including pigs, and humans can carry the bacterium without showing clinical symptoms. Particularly in the light of the antibiotic minimization concept of the 16th Amendment to the German Medicines Act (AMG), the question arises whether the significant reduction in the use of antibiotics in pig farming since 2011 (Wallmann et al. 2018) has led to an increase in the incidence of Listeria spp. in the pig population. The aim of this project is to investigate whether the Listeria monocytogenes strains responsible for human disease can be isolated from fattening pigs or the slaughtering environment. Various studies concerning this issue brought contradictive results. Among others, Borch et al. (1996) came to the conclusion that the contamination of pork with L. monocytogenes originated mainly from the processing environment and not primarily from the animals themselves while other studies identified slaughter pigs as a possible primary source of the pathogen in the food chain (Fredriksson-Ahomaa et al. 2009; Hellström et al. 2010).

How to Cite:

Meemken, D., Dzierzon, J., Merle, R., Thieme, S. & Oswaldi, V., (2019) “The Entry of Listeria monocytogenes into the Food Chain via Slaughter Pigs”, SafePork 13(1), 109. doi: https://doi.org//safepork.11207