Scientific and technical assistance on the provisional results of the study on genetic resistance to Classical scrapie in goats in Cyprus

This EFSA Scientific Report reviews and discusses the provisional results of a study (EURL/Cypriot study) on genetic resistance to Classical scrapie in goats in Cyprus. It is concluded that the provisional results obtained in the study further support the lower susceptibility to Classical scrapie in goats carrying the D146 and S146 alleles compared to wild type (N146N) goats. The results from intracerebral challenge are not compatible with a level of resistance as high as the one observed in sheep carrying the ARR allele or in goats carrying the K222 allele. Final results from the oral challenge will be crucial in determining the level of resistance associated with the D146 and S146 alleles. Furthermore, it is concluded that the provisional results obtained in the study are compatible with the possibility to use the D146 and S146 alleles to build a genetic strategy to control and eradicate Classical scrapie in goats in Cyprus. However, the success of such a strategy will be determined by the level of resistance associated with the D146 and S146 alleles against infection with all the different TSE agents proved to be circulating in Cyprus, which at this stage of the EURL/Cypriot study remains to be definitively assessed. In addition, as compared to the results of the model developed in the study, it is concluded that the efficiency of the implementation in the field of a breeding strategy selecting for the D146 and S146 alleles may be lower due to potential practical constraints related to the management of genetic diversity, to the selection for production and health traits and to the need of moving animals for breeding purposes in Cyprus. Recommendations on aspects that may be considered when completing the study are formulated

Scientific Opinion on the safety and efficacy of <em>Lactobacillus paracasei</em> (NCIMB 30151) as a silage additive for all animal species

Lactobacillus paracasei is a technological additive intended to improve the ensiling process at a minimum proposed dose of 1.0 × 108 colony-forming units (CFU)/kg fresh material. The bacterial species L. paracasei is considered by the European Food Safety Authority to be suitable for the qualified presumption of safety approach to safety assessment. As the identity of the strain has been clearly established and as no antibiotic resistance of concern was detected, the use of the strain in the production of silage is considered safe for livestock species, for consumers of products from animals fed the treated silage and for the environment. The additive should be regarded as a skin and eye irritant and a potential skin and respiratory sensitiser, and treated accordingly. A total of seven studies with laboratory-scale silos were made using samples of forage of differing water-soluble carbohydrate content. In each case, replicate silos containing treated forage were compared with identical silos containing the same but untreated forage. The results showed that the additive has the potential to improve the production of silage from easy, moderately difficult and difficult to ensile forage species by reducing the pH and increasing the preservation of dry matter. This was most consistently shown at application rates of 5 × 107 and 1 × 108 CFU/kg forage

EFSA BIOHAZ Panel (EFSA Panel on Biologicial Hazards), 2013. Scientific Opinion on the public health hazards to be covered by inspection of meat (solipeds)

A risk ranking process identified Trichinella spp. as the most relevant biological hazard in the context of meat inspection of domestic solipeds. Without a full and reliable soliped traceability system, it is considered that either testing all slaughtered solipeds for Trichinella spp., or inactivation meat treatments (heat or irradiation) should be used to maintain the current level of safety. With regard to general aspects of current meat inspection practices, the use of manual techniques during current post-mortem soliped meat inspection may increase microbial cross-contamination, and is considered to have a detrimental effect on the microbiological status of soliped carcass meat. Therefore, the use of visual-only inspection is suggested for “non-suspect” solipeds. For chemical hazards, phenylbutazone and cadmium were ranked as being of high potential concern. Monitoring programmes for chemical hazards should be more flexible and based on the risk of occurrence, taking into account Food Chain Information (FCI), covering the specific on-farm environmental conditions and individual animal treatments, and the ranking of chemical substances, which should be regularly updated and include new hazards. Sampling, testing and intervention protocols for chemical hazards should be better integrated and should focus particularly on cadmium, phenylbutazone and priority “essential substances” approved for treatment of equine animals. Implementation and enforcement of a more robust and reliable identification system throughout the European Union is needed to improve traceability of domestic solipeds. Meat inspection is recognised as a valuable tool for surveillance and monitoring of animal health and welfare conditions. If visual only post-mortem inspection is implemented for routine slaughter, a reduction in the detection of strangles and mild cases of rhodococcosis would occur. However, this was considered unlikely to affect the overall surveillance of both diseases. Improvement of FCI and traceability were considered as not having a negative effect on animal health and welfare surveillance

Scientific Opinion on the public health hazards to be covered by inspection of meat from farmed game

Salmonella spp. in farmed wild boar and Toxoplasma gondii in farmed deer and farmed wild boar were ranked as a high priority for meat inspection. Trichinella spp. in wild boar was ranked as low priority due to current controls, which should be continued. For chemical hazards, all substances were ranked as medium or lower potential concern. More effective control of biological hazards could be achieved using an integrated farm to chilled carcass approach, including improved food chain information (FCI) and risk-based controls. Further studies are required on Salmonella spp. in farmed wild boar and T. gondii in farmed wild boar and farmed deer. If new information confirms a high risk to public health from meat from these species, setting targets at carcass level should be considered. Palpation and incision should be omitted, as it will not detect biological hazards considered to be a high priority for meat inspection while increasing the potential spread and cross-contamination of the carcasses with Salmonella. Palpation and/or incision may be applied where abnormalities have been detected but away from the slaughter line. However the elimination of routine palpation and incision would be detrimental for detecting tuberculosis. As farmed deer and farmed wild boar can act as tuberculosis reservoirs, any reduction in the detection, due to changes in the post-mortem inspection procedures, will have consequences for the overall surveillance of tuberculosis. Monitoring programmes for chemical hazards should be more flexible and based on the risk of occurrence, taking into account FCI, which should be expanded to reflect the specific environmental conditions of the farms where the animals are reared, and the ranking of chemical substances, which should be regularly updated and include new hazards. Control programmes across the food chain, national residue control programmes, feed control and monitoring of environmental contaminants should be better integrated

Foodborne disease prevention and broiler chickens with reduced Campylobacter infection

Studies have suggested that flies play a linking role in the epidemiology of Campylobacter spp. in broiler chickens and that fly screens can reduce the prevalence of Campylobacter spp. We examined the year-round and long-term effects of fly screens in 10 broiler chicken houses (99 flocks) in Denmark. Prevalence of Campylobacter spp.–positive flocks was significantly reduced, from 41.4 % during 2003– 2005 (before fly screens) to 10.3 % in 2006–2009 (with fly screens). In fly screen houses, Campylobacter spp. prevalence did not peak during the summer. Nationally, prevalence of Campylobacter spp.–positive flocks in Denmark could have been reduced by an estimated 77 % during summer had fly screens been part of biosecurity practices. These results imply that fly screens might help reduce prevalence of campylobacteriosis among humans, which is closely linked to Campylobacter spp. prevalence among broiler chicken flocks. Campylobacter spp. is the most common cause of enteritis in humans in the European Union; 190,566 cases were reported in 2008 (1). However, it has been estimated that only 2.1 % of all cases are reported and that in the European Union the true incidence of campylobacteriosis is ≈9 million cases per year (2). From 2008 through 2009, the number of human infections in the European Union increased 4%, although there was no statistically significant trend from 2005 through 2009 (1). The incidence of campylobacteriosis seems to differ among European countries (3). In addition, campylobacteriosis and its sequelae are calculated to cost 0.35 million disability-adjusted life-years per year, totaling €2.4 billion per year (2)

EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ); Scientific Opinion on VTEC-seropathotype and scientific criteria regarding pathogenicity assessment

During 2007-2010, 13 545 confirmed human VTEC infections and 777 haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) cases were reported in the EU; isolates from 85 % of cases were not fully serotyped and therefore could not be classified using the Karmali seropathotype concept. Seropathotype group D covered 5 % of isolates from fully serotyped cases; 14 cases (0.7 %) belonged to seropathotype group E, defined by Karmali et al. (2003) as non-human only. Isolates from around 27 % of cases could not be assigned. There were no HUS cases reported for the serotypes in groups D and E but 17 HUS cases could not be assigned. The health outcome was reported for only a fraction of confirmed cases. About 64 % of patients presented with only diarrhoea; VTEC infection resulted in HUS in around 10 % of cases. The new ISO/TS 13136:2012 standard improves the detection of VTEC in food. An alternative concept based on the detection of verocytotoxins alone or genes encoding such verocytotoxins does not provide a sound scientific basis on which to assess risk to the consumer because there is no single or combination of marker(s) that fully define a ‘pathogenic’ VTEC. Strains positive for verocytotoxin 2 gene(vtx2)- and eae (intimin production)- or [aaiC (secreted protein of EAEC) plus aggR (plasmid-encoded regulator)] genes are associated with higher risk of more severe illness than other virulence gene combinations. The 2011 O104:H4 outbreak demonstrated the difficulty of predicting the emergence of ‘new’ pathogenic VTEC types by screening only for the eae gene or by focusing on a restricted panel of serogroups. A molecular approach utilising genes encoding virulence characteristics additional to the presence of vtx genes has been proposed

EFSA BIOHAZ Panel (EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards), 2013. Scientific Opinion on the public health hazards to be covered by inspection of meat (bovine animals).

A risk ranking process identified Salmonella spp. and pathogenic verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) as current high-priority biological hazards for meat inspection of bovine animals. As these hazards are not detected by traditional meat inspection, a meat safety assurance system for the farm-to-chilled carcass continuum using a risk-based approach was proposed. Key elements of the system are risk-categorisation of slaughter animals for high-priority biological hazards based on improved food chain information, as well as risk-categorisation of slaughterhouses according to their capability to control those hazards. Omission of palpation and incision during post-mortem inspection for animals subjected to routine slaughter may decrease spreading and cross-contamination with the high-priority biological hazards. For chemical hazards, dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls were ranked as being of high potential concern; all other substances were ranked as of medium or lower concern. Monitoring programmes for chemical hazards should be more flexible and based on the risk of occurrence, taking into account the completeness and quality of the food chain information supplied and the ranking of chemical substances, which should be regularly updated to include new hazards. Control programmes across the food chain, national residue control programmes, feed control and monitoring of environmental contaminants should be better integrated. Meat inspection is a valuable tool for surveillance and monitoring of animal health and welfare conditions. Omission of palpation and incision would reduce detection effectiveness for bovine tuberculosis and would have a negative impact on the overall surveillance system especially in officially tuberculosis free countries. The detection effectiveness for bovine cysticercosis, already low with the current meat inspection system, would result in a further decrease, if palpation and incision are removed. Extended use of food chain information could compensate for some, but not all, the information on animal health and welfare lost if only visual post-mortem inspection is applied