The intensified control programme for Salmonella at Danish swine slaughterhouses

In Denmark, an ongoing surveillance of Salmonella in pork has been implemented since 1993. The surveillance has been optimised and extended in order to further reduce the Salmonella prevalence in pork. The pork industry has made an agreement with the Danish authorities, that by the end of 2006 the Salmonella prevalence in pork must be reduced with 27% compared to the prevalence by the end of 2001. The intensified Control programme for Salmonella at Danish slaughterhouses is based upon carcass swabs. The results of the samples are evaluated for each slaughterhouse every month including the results for the last twelve months. Slaughterhouses with a Salmonella prevalence of 2.3% or more on individual carcasses are noted, and if a slaughterhouse is noted 4 times during a 6 months period, it is obliged to start an intensified Salmonella control programme

The intensified control program for Salmonella in Danish pork

The intensified control program for Salmonella at Danish slaughterhouses was implemented in May 2002 in order to identify slaughterhouses that have an increased prevalence of Salmonella in pork over a period of time. These slaughterhouses must intensify their efforts to reduce the Salmonella prevalence

Salmonella serotype distribution in Danish swine herds and pork 1998 - 2004

The serotype in the Danish swine population and in pork has been remarkable stable during the period 1998-2004. S. Typhimurium remains the predominant serotype in the entire swine population and in pork

Microbiological criteria - Danish experience with use of the food safety criteria on minced meat and meat preparations

The recently introduced EU Commission regulation 2073/2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs sets food safety criteria on Salmonella in minced meat and meat preparations. Products intended to be eaten cooked are to be sampled weekly by five samples of 10g each. If Salmonella is found and the product is on the market, a recall will take place. Data from several EU countries in 2005 show a Salmonella prevalence varying from 0-8% in minced pork and 0-4% in minced beef. In Denmark, a total of 32 recalls were performed in 2006. This is costly, and it is questionably whether it has any impact on food safety, since the meat is supposed to be heat-treated prior to consumption

Prevalence of Salmonella spp. after hot-water decontamination of finishers slaughtered in a Danish abattoir during 2004-2008

In Denmark, pigs from herds with unacceptable high levels of Salmonella spp. (level-3 herds) or herds with multi-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium DTI04 are obliged to undergo sanitary slaughter to secure food safety. Since 2001, carcasses from such herds undergo hot-water decontamination (HWD) in one plant belonging to the largest slaughterhouse company in Demnark. On each day of HWD, swab samples are taken from the surface of five heat-treated carcasses. These samples are analysed qualitatively as a pooled sample for Salmonella. Further I 0 swab samples are collected and analysed individually for E. coli (quantitatively). We present surveillance data from mid-February 2004 to December 2008. Moreover, we identifY risk factors for Salmonella after HWD. Salmonella was found in 2.6% of the pooled samples corresponding to an individual carcass prevalence of0.9%. On days where E. coli exceeded the acceptable limit (i.e. ~I out of 10 samples had levels \u3e320) there was a tendency towards higher probability of finding Salmonella compared to other days (8.3% versus 2.5%; p~0.28). These data show that HWD is an effective risk-reducing way of dealing in practice with slaughter pigs from herds with higher risk of Salmonella

Association between carcass-swab-positivity and seroprevalence in herd of origin and estimation of the importance of cross-contamination on the slaughterline for Salmonella-negative herds

The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between Salmonella positive herds and microbiological results from carcasses from the same herd

Risk assessment for Toxoplasma gondii in the Danish pig industry

The parasite Toxoplasma gondii is capable of infecting most mammals including man. In humans, toxoplasmosis is usually asymptomatic but may have serious consequences for pregnant women or immuno-compromised patients. Contact with infected cats and cat litter, contaminated soil and Infected meat are risk factors for toxoplasmosis. Although the prevalence of Toxoplasma in pig production has declined significantly dunng the past 30 years, it has recently been suggested that a large part of human cases of toxoplasmosis may be ascribed to meat, mcluding pork and pork products. Moreover, perinatal screening of pregnant women and infants for Toxoplasma has proven to be of limited value. This has raised the question of how to survey for Toxoplasma· in humans or meat? Therefore, the role of meat, including pigs and pork, as a risk factor for human toxoplasmosis was assessed by the Danish Meat Association . The release assessment showed that outdoor-reared pigs as well as sows and boars were at higher risk of infection with Toxoplasma. With respect to exposure, consumption of mildly cured pork products and inadequately heat-treated pork were associated with increased risk. Knowledge on elimination or survival of Toxoplasma in cured pork products is sparse, which is unsatisfactory given current trends toward lower salt content and lower cooking temperatures. It was concluded that, aside from consumption of raw pork, which is rare in Denmark and not recommended for other reasons, certain mildly cured ready-to-eat pork products, that have not been heat-treated, may constitute a risk for toxoplasmosis, if not frozen prior to manufacturing. Information on the effects of cunng on survival of Toxoplasma in meat is sparse and therefore deserves further research. However, most of the pork used for manufacturing in Denmark onginates from pigs raised indoors and for logistic reasons it is frozen prior to processing, thereby reducing the risk for human toxoplasmosis

Cost reductions in the Danish Salmonella surveillance program

In 1993 Denmark Implemented a surveillance program for Salmonella in pigs and pork. Since then the program has been adjusted several times leading to a reduction of the assoc1ated cost. The program has been optim1zed in breeder and multiplier herds as well as for fattening pig herds and at the slaughterhouses. All in all, optimizations of the program have reduced the over-all costs from 0.65 € to 0.15 € per fattening pig produced. This has been achieved without jeopardizing the food safety which can be seen from the numbers of human Salmonella infections attributed to pork. From 1993 to 2005, the number of human cases has decreased from app. 1,100 to around 100-200 per year

Correlation between Salmonella serology and results from bacteriological examinations of caecal contents, carcass swabs, pharyngeal swabs and caecal lymph nodes from Danish slaughterpigs

The study included a total of 167 swine herds. From each herd samples were collected from 10 animals. From each animal one sample of caecal content, one carcass swab, one pharyngeal swab and a sample of the caecal lymph nodes were taken. These four samples were bacteriological examined. Furthermore, one meat sample was taken for serological analysis

The new Danish Salmonella surveillance on fresh pig carcasses based on pooled swab samples including compatibility with levels of the former system

The nation-wide surveillance of Salmonella in Danish pork has been revised by the 1st of January 2001 and is now based upon swabs from fresh chilled pork carcasses instead of cuts. At each slaughterhouse 5 carcasses are sampled randomly every day and analysed as one pooled sample. The results are evaluated by looking at the results from the last 11 slaughter days. For the first 5 month of the year the prevalence of Salmonella on individual fresh pig carcasses has been 1.7%