Integrated Quality Assurance and Control in Swine Production *

Tielen Martin J.M.
Animal Health Service in the Netherlands, Postbox 4, 5280 AA Boxtel, the Netherlands
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University Utrecht, the Netherlands


Pork Quality is not longer only a question of commercial quality such as ham shape, meat/fat ratio, colour and taste. More and more the government and the consumer are interested in the safety of the product and the welfare of the animals during lifetime. To control the product safety on the product in the slaughterhouses and the retail is very expensive and has restricted value. Therefore there is a need for information about the health status and treatments of the animals during production . The welfare of animals is very strongly influenced by the housing and handling during production and can not be measured on the product in the slaughterhouse. Therefore again there is a need of information about the housing and management conditions during production to give the assurance about optimal welfare.
This development has lead to the set up of Integrated Quality Control Systems for the complete production chain. The target of this system is to assure the consumer, that he can buy pork with a high meat quality, with no risks for his health and produced by animals with a good health and welfare during lifetime.
To achieve this target it is necessary to set up first at all minimum requirement for all the links in the production chain from birth to bred. Succeeding you have to set up a administration system, in which all participants register there activities and give guaranties to meet the IQC-requirements. But still you have to control the participants based on the administration system and the actual situation in the field. For the cases of deviations you need a system of intervention for adjustment. Producers with deviations have to be placed in a group, who becomes special attention. They are forced by advice or punishment to improve the situation. It can be necessary to put them in a intensive meat inspection system, what brings extra costs for the producer. At the end it can be necessary in incidental cases to quit the producer out of the IQC.
The experiences with Integrated Quality Control in swine production in the Netherlands are positive. Over 80 percent of the production is already in the IQC. The system has a great education value for all participants. The registration and administration gives clear insight in the weak points in production. In comparisons each time IQC- herds have better health status and production results then not IQC- herds. But still there is a big difference between the individual farms. Therefore herd analyses and examinations by veterinarians and extension workers are important to find out the problem sources and to give advice for improvements. Thereby attention should especially be focused on the worst part of the group. At the other side the better group could be stimulated to maintain the good status by simplifying the control and the inspection, what can reduce producers costs.


* Summary of a lecture on Workshop 3 " Product Safety and Quality Assurance" of the Research Consortium Sustainable Animal Production , 21-24 June 2000, Vechta, Germany

Suzan Horst
RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN RELATION TO FOOD SAFETY: WHO BENEFITS AND WHO PAYS?

PREVENTIVE VETERINARY MEDICINE AND HYGIENE ON-FARM STRATEGIES FOR THE ASSURANCE OF SAFETY AND QUALITY IN PORK PRODUCTION

S.C. Kyriakis, C. Alexopoulos
Clinic of Productive Animal Medicine and Clinic of Obstetrics and AI, Department of Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 540 06 Thessaloniki, Greece

ABSTRACT
Production of comestible animal-products has been rapidly changed from traditional to intensive/industrial. The main criterion for such a transition was higher meat production achieved with the lowest cost. Today the results of this development could be documentary viewed. Especially, pig production has been based on uncontrollable industrialization of animal feeds and the connection with the primary plant production has been desolated. Intensive housing and management systems without any respect to animal welfare and environment protection created serious and difficult to treat disease syndromes and complexes, thus increasing the use of antimicrobial/antibiotic agents in pigs. As a consequence consumers started not to trust animal products. Even the most favorable approaches show that confidence of animal products will be further undermined in the future. This paper highlights the necessity of application of comprehensive on-farm intervention veterinary strategies for the assurance of safety and quality in pork production.


INTRODUCTION
During the last 50 years the production of comestible animal-products has been dramatically changed from traditional to intensive/industrial. Application of intensive breeding systems in pigs was based on high populated units (terrific "animal-cities"), where extremely high number of animals are bred under difficult conditions, without any respect to animal welfare and health. This condition, based only to the attempt of lowering the cost of production, finally created serious and difficult to treat disease syndromes and complexes, as well as new diseases, known as "man made diseases". Therefore, there was a dramatic increase in the use of antimicrobial/antibiotic agents in pigs, thus leading to unpredictable consequences for human health. On the other hand uncontrollable industrialization of animal feed with the use of doubtful but cheep raw materials or recycling animal by-products in feeding schedules deranged seriously the safety and quality of pork production.
For the above reasons today�s meat production and consumption have been under heavy criticism. Pig industry, began to recognize the growing pressure to change from an intensive production driven to a more consumer and market oriented production; from quantity to quality. In many countries, but particularly in Europe and North America, there is an increasing concern among consumers about the origin, the safety and wholesomeness of their daily food, especially meat. Furthermore other issues like the link between BSE and human disease, food-borne pathogens, the extensive use of antimicrobial-antibiotic agents as feed additives and the risk of bacterial resistance against them, the drug residues problem, the most recently dioxins and PCB�s, environmental concern and animal welfare concern, have established an untrustworthy communication policy between animal-food industry and consumers. Despite the fact that many times the problems have been stirred up by extensive mass media coverage, unambiguously in the near future the meat industry can only survive the intense international competition with an optimal market oriented approach to satisfy consumer demands. A strict integrated quality assurance approach in all parts of the production process, from "conception to consumption" or from "stable to table", is therefore necessary.


SAFETY AND QUALITY PRINCIPLES IN PORK PRODUCTION

There is no doubt that achievement of safe and high quality pork depends on elimination of a series of factors which could have a negative influence on product�s safety and intrude oneself into any stage of production, handling and preservation. Since these factors are multitudinous, it is firstly essential to control those which are more dangerous, taking care not to increase excessively the cost of production. The main principles of such a production should be based to more martinet work protocols applied during pig breeding, slaughter and meat processing. Veterinarians are now called to respond either to the planning or to the strict application of product safety and quality programs. According to experience gained during last years it is obvious that most of the problems, which created questionableness for meat safety and quality, arise from the field of primary production. It is, therefore, necessary, to revise the applied procedures, starting from the farm. On-farm safety programs should be based onto three principles: (a) application of protocols in breeding, feeding, hygiene and management of the animals in order to eliminate the possibility of pork sticking, (b) verification of the effectiveness of such applications and (c) control of critical points during production from recognized third parts.

FIELDS OF APPLYING ON-FARM INTERVENTION STRATEGIES

1. Application of creditable breeding programs

Pork quality depends on pig genetic background, feeding, slaughter procedures and preservation methods. As far as the genetic background is concerned, specific protocols relating to genetic selection and breeding should be applied in the farms. Concerning fatteners the goals achieved should be: at least 80% of the fatteners to be negative by using halothane test and their carcasses to obtain a pH24>6.0, while the percentage of Hampshire�s participation to be less than 50%.

2. Hygiene interventions in the field of pig feeding

Pig feeding is a crucial field to achieve safety for the consumer in pork production. Three main criteria should be used in this area:
a) Elimination of animal by-products as raw materials in pig feeding, since these are extremely sensitive to contamination with pathogens and easily undergo chemical changes which lead to the presence of undesirable agents like hyperoxides, etc.
b) Utilization of plants without residues of chemicals used in agriculture, as well as use of raw materials of natural origin, like acidfiers, probiotics, origanum essential oils, enzymes, organic acid mixtures, etc. which have been found to improve health status and performance of pigs. Moreover, the use of toxin-free and especially mycotoxin-free plants is essential to ensure safety in pork production.
c) Elimination of the use of antibiotics/antibacterials in feeds.
In order to maximize the possibility to avoid dangers originated from feed, a "safety and quality certificate" has to be instituted for animal feed manufactures and distributors, throughout the whole feed production procedure, with very hard judicatory punishments for defaulters.

3. Control of swine diseases with the lowest use of antibacterial/antibiotic agents

Elimination of the use of antibacterial/antibiotic agents in pigs should be based to the appropriate application of protocols relating to:
a) All-in all-out systems
b) Frequent disinfections of animals, buildings and equipment with safe disinfectants
c) Use of the proper vaccination programs
d) Use of the proper metaphylaxis program, especially in weaners.
The constant veterinary supervision of the farm is therefore necessary and veterinarians should keep a detailed file relating to any pharmaceutical agent used, which has to be available at any time to the relative veterinary authorities. Veterinarians and farmers should also have the responsibility against the law for any breach of the rules concerning use of pharmaceutical agents.

4. Elimination of food-borne pathogens in pigs

Food-borne disease remains a significant cause of mortality and economic burden, and due to continual exposure to media reports of food-borne disease outbreaks and food product recalls, consumers are increasingly demanding higher quality and safer foods. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) estimates that the contamination of meat and poultry products with pathogenic bacteria results annually in as many as 4.000 deaths and 5.000.000 illnesses (1996). The primary bacterial pathogens associated with these numbers are salmonella, campylobacter, E.coli 0157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia enterocolitica and Trichinella spiralis. However, food-borne illnesses originate from a variety of sources, and it is not currently possible to estimate the proportion of human food-borne disease due to foods of swine origin.
Nowadays, it is well appreciated that producing safe and wholesome food can only be assured if food safety practices occur throughout the production continuum from "stable to table". Nevertheless, beginning the production chain with raw materials that carry pathogens at the lowest levels possible allows us to improve the effectiveness of food safety procedures at subsequent production levels.
So it is quite clear today that the initial responsibility to minimize the contamination levels of pathogenic bacteria and all other potential hazards on raw meat and poultry starts with the farm.

5. Application of animal welfare in swine production

Until recently, consumer demand appeared to be a simple one: for meat of satisfactory quality at an acceptable price. However, with increase public concern in many countries about animal welfare in some of the systems in which meat is being produced, consumer demand seems to have been changed.
Nowadays, consumers are interested in and aware of the way the animals are handled during production, transport and slaughter. It is true, that a lot of work in this area needs to be done. Only a few countries have animal welfare programs for the swine industry. The role of the veterinarians is crucial as they can help the industry make these programs realistic and profitable.

6. Rodent and insect control in pig-farms

Rodent and insect control are vital to the control of biological hazards on the farm. Rodents have been implicated in the transmission of more than 25 diseases both to human and pig. They spread disease into uncontaminated areas via their droppings, feet, urine, saliva, or blood. Rodent control will require the elimination of hiding spots in and around the facility, e.g. garbage, broken equipment, boxes. Feed should be stored in secure containers to reduce the attraction of rodents and avoid contamination. Installation of rodent barriers and guard strips on doors and the use of rodenticides may be required. Insect control requires the use of good sanitary habits and the removal of animal waste. Excessive amounts of moisture and garbage must be eliminated.

7. Control of agents influencing health effects of work in swine confinement buildings

Confinement buildings are commonly used to raise pigs in all over the world. However, this environment has been associated with a variety of human health concerns. Respiratory complaints and other problems related to inhaling dust and gases are common in those who have long- term employment in these settings. The main problems are an asthma-like syndrome and bronchitis with mild pulmonary function changes and signs of airways inflammation. Mucous membrane irritation syndrome and organic dust toxic syndrome are also seen. It is therefore necessary to establish a regular medical control of the farm workers. Moreover, it is well known that poor environmental quality has also an adverse affect on both health and productivity of pigs (the growth rate can be reduced by more than 9% when pigs are exposed to 50 ppm ammonia). It is believed that all of these can be prevented or reduced by improving air quality (reduce ammonia, organic dust, endotoxins and improving ventilation rate).

HACCP PRINCIPLES: PROPOSED TOOLS FOR APPLYING ON-FARM INTERVENTION STRATEGIES

The above mentioned goals can only be achieved by continuous improvement in hazard identification and prevention at the farm level with the implementation of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point Systems (HACCP).
The main principles of HACCP systems are the following:
1. Hazard analysis inspection, including biological, chemical and physical conditions that could jeopardize the safety of foods.
2. Identify CCPs at which control can be applied and a food safety hazard can be prevented, eliminated or reduced to an acceptable level.
3. Establish critical limits for each CCP.
4. Establish CCP monitoring requirements.
5. Define the corrective action when monitoring indicates a problem.
6. Establish effective record-keeping procedures to document the HACCP system.
7. Establish verification procedures for the HACCP system.
An effective at farm-level safety program will lead to improved food safety at subsequent production levels. If producer groups standardize their on-farm procedures, have them certified by third party certification entities, and if the pigs which are produced under the defined good management practice rules, can be separated from the ordinary, the value of the final product can only increase.
The industry needs guarantees about the health status of the pigs and the use of drugs in the production stage, because it is impossible to monitor each individual pig at slaughter for drug residues and zoonotic diseases. The producer and the veterinarian of the 21st century must be able to provide such guarantees. Pork producers who want to meet the consumer demands of future markets create quality assurance systems. An effective data flow between farms, slaughter houses and veterinarians (who are best able to apply the principles of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) is crucial for such systems. Furthermore, swine industry could benefit from veterinary expertise in risk communication to consumers.

CONCLUSION

A revision of the current policy concerning all stages of pork production is absolutely necessary for a viable swine industry in the future. Preventive veterinary medicine and hygiene on-farm strategies based on HACCP system procedures should be further developed. Farms supervised by a specifically authorized veterinarian and controlled by an official veterinary authority, labeling the final product, could be the most reliable way to achieve pork safe for consumer�s health.

CONTROL STRATEGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OF PORK IN STYRIA

Dr. Josef K�fer
Department of Veterinary Administration in Styria

Abstract
European consumers are becoming increasingly critical as far as food is concerned with safety and animal welfare. They want to know more about breeding methods, fattening procedures and animal husbandry, prevention and eradication of severe animal diseases and meat inspection. At the same time the image and reliability of the quality of meat is becoming more disputable in the eye of the consumer. Both trends urge the necessity of quality assurance and quality management programmes in the process of food pro-duction to preserve consumer acceptance. Given the decline in consumer confidence in meat, one of the main aims of consumer protection is to ensure that "safe products" are put onto the market.
Modern control systems in the production of food of animal origin include the entire food chain, shift the control focus from the final product to process and system monitoring, demand increased self-responsibility through the establishment of self-assessment measures and assign new tasks to food control.
Control systems are based on a cycle mechanism, starting from data acquisition and data analysis using appropriate analytical and epidemiological/statistical methods, ranging to the interpretation of results, feedback to the persons in charge of intervention strategies and finally to the intervention program itself, which in its turn directly influences the sampling system. Data acquisition usually requires the sample size and corresponding sample design (e.g. simple random sample, PPS method etc.) to be tailored to the aim of the respective programme (estimated prevalence and incidence, comparison of different regions, or estimation of temporal trends). In the case of spatial/temporal interactions the sample design must always take the following components into account: "when" (temporal component) and "where" (spatial component) must "how many" samples (sample size in relation to space and time) be taken. Practical examples of process control (slaughtering), the implementation of monitoring programs (animal health) and of surveillance programs (Salmonella in pork) will be presented.

[The PDF-File includes Figure1: Biometrical control systems]

Attachment fulltext_kfer33.pdf (12 k)

IMPLICATIONS OF CHANGING GENERAL MARKET CONDITIONS ON PRODUCT QUALITY AND QUALITY ASSURANCE IN THE
GERMAN PORK PRODUCTION

Anja GIEBEL
Department for Market Research
University of Bonn
Nussallee 21, 53115 Bonn, Germany

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to derive suggestions for product quality and quality assurance in German pig production from general market conditions. It is argued that developments in trade, the EU agricultural policy and legislation increase the already existing disadvantages in competitiveness of German pork producers. The German consumers, food retailers, meat processors, and large-scale consumers mainly demand low priced pork and special hygienic quality whereas process quality characteristics such as regional production or animal welfare are of lower importance. Against this background, low priced meat and special hygienic qual-ity must be the quality characteristics to be assured. In order to achieve a sustainable animal production in Germany, a closer co-operation between the participants of the food production chain and the increase in average pig stock size to gain profit from cost degressions is required.

Attachment giebel.pdf (56 k)

A Risk-Based Farm to Pork Food Safety Information System

R S Morris and P R Davies, Massey University Epicentre, Massey
University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

In recent years considerable attention has been focused on improved mechanisms for protecting consumers against microbiological and chemical hazards which may be present in food. Yet there is as yet no widely used system in place to give consumers confidence that this objective is being met.
No system will be perfect, but a risk-based system will be much more practical and effective in reducing the exposure of consumers to these hazards than one based on classical inspection techniques which are recognized to be high cost but poorly effective, and will also be superior to one based on a formulaic or process approach such as HACCP.
Work will be described which is progressively constructing the components of a system in which the hazard-specific risks will be evaluated in real time for meat products at each stage of production and processing through to presentation in the supermarket, using information gathered for quality assurance purposes. Each animal and its products will be tracked through the production and marketing chain, and risk assessments for each of the significant hazards will be computed in real time using an expert system approach already developed for risk analyses. Disposition and further processing of food items can be adjusted to take account of assessed risks, and both feedback and feedforward can be provided to producers, processors and others in the marketing chain to guide current and future actions. The system is intended to be evolutionary in nature, and it will be designed to take account of new knowledge and echnologies, progressively building such information into its approach as the evidence becomes available. The features of the system will be illustrated, and a strategy for its further development and implementation will be described.

"Minnesota Certified" (MnCERT) - Design and Development of an ISO 9000 Equivalent for Agriculture

Th. G. Blaha, University of Minnesota, College of Veterinary Medicine, 1988 Fitch Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108


Introduction

Compared to other industries, agriculture is rather unstable due to factors such as highly complex biological systems, dependence on climate etc. (Cochrane, 2000). However, the currently increasing uncertainties for the independent farming community stems mainly from the rapid and accelerating structural change in agriculture to a more industrialized model of production (Boehlje et al., 1999a). The resulting increase of instability steadily raises the volatility of the economic environment for almost every agricultural enterprise. Unfortunately, there are significant differences in the capability to respond to these changes between the vertically integrated agricultural corporations with command-and-control structures and the family farming community with little, if any coordination.

Finding a way of directing agricultural development that can be agreed upon by the majority of the society is extremely difficult, since the general public has developed a uniquely complicated attitude toward agriculture. Whereas most controversially discussed concerns (nuclear power, global warming, biotechnology etc.) divide populations into opponents and proponents, affluence on the one hand and nostalgia for the idyllic "old McDonald's farm" on the other have produced a somewhat "schizophrenic" attitude. This attitude is characterized by simultaneously demanding the preservation of the idealized family farm AND strict compliance with the latest knowledge about food safety and food quality, for which traceability and coordination are major enablers. The public hardly realizes that, in contrast to the socially stigmatized "factory farming" systems, the traditional agricultural system of independent farms is not only rather inefficient, but also not able to implement on its own standardized food safety and quality assurance procedures to decrease food-borne health risks and to increase food quality. The tug-of-war between expecting inexpensive, safe and high-quality food and the nostalgic sympathy for the family farm has led to a mixture of misperceptions, unrealistic expectations and loss of respect for those who produce our food.

The public, swamped with confusing and contradicting opinions about and signals from agriculture, seems to expect from agricultural leaders and policy makers a family farm structure that preserves the values of family-based rural communities AND can compete without subsidies in a global economy with growing vertically integrated corporations.

This paper investigates the question, whether and how this seemingly impossible ideal can be achieved.

Attachment fulltext-agricultureiintransiti.pdf (114 k)