In the European Union (EU), meat inspection is up for debate. The objectives of inspection are to ensure food safety, animal health and animal welfare. There is a request for a system that can help to address these objectives in a more valid, feasible and cost-effective way than seen at current. Due to the introduction of visual-only inspection, the need for modernisation is prominent for pigs. One part of the modernisation deals with the coding system in place used to register meat inspection lesions. Although the EU Food Inspection Regulation (EU) 2019/627 applies in all Member States and in other countries following the EU legislation, national coding systems are in place along with associated judgement criteria for when to condemn meat as unfit for human consumption or not. Pig meat inspection data from 2019 from seven European countries – Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal and Spain – were collected and used to compare terminology and frequencies of lesion codes connected with partial or total condemnation. Hereby, we were able to identify a common top-10 list for the lesion codes leading to partial and total condemnation, respectively. We will subsequently apply a Strengths-WeaknessesOpportunities-Threats (SWOT) analysis to the coding systems. Moreover, we will identify variations in the top-10 list between countries and provide possible reasons behind the differences. Finally, we will compare reasons for unfitness of meat given in the EU Regulation to the national lesion code lists. The current work will subsequently continue with an in-depth collection and analysis of data about the different lesion code systems in place in a higher number of European countries. The work to be done could be used by the individual countries to update their coding system towards a more harmonised system, while respecting the epidemiological situation and the food safety culture in the country, as well as the trade agreements in place.
Differences in terminology and frequency of meat inspection lesions in finishing pigs in seven European countries – A pilot study / Alban, Lis; Vieira-Pinto, Madalena; Meemken, Diana; Maurer, Patric; Ghidini, Sergio; Santos, Susana; Gómez-Laguna, Jaime; Laukkanen-Ninios, Riikka; Alvseike, Ole; Langkabel, Nina. - ELETTRONICO. - (2020), pp. 24-24. (Intervento presentato al convegno Scientific Conference of COST Action 18105 "Risk-based meat inspection and integrated meat safety assurance").
Differences in terminology and frequency of meat inspection lesions in finishing pigs in seven European countries – A pilot study
Sergio Ghidini;
2020-01-01
Abstract
In the European Union (EU), meat inspection is up for debate. The objectives of inspection are to ensure food safety, animal health and animal welfare. There is a request for a system that can help to address these objectives in a more valid, feasible and cost-effective way than seen at current. Due to the introduction of visual-only inspection, the need for modernisation is prominent for pigs. One part of the modernisation deals with the coding system in place used to register meat inspection lesions. Although the EU Food Inspection Regulation (EU) 2019/627 applies in all Member States and in other countries following the EU legislation, national coding systems are in place along with associated judgement criteria for when to condemn meat as unfit for human consumption or not. Pig meat inspection data from 2019 from seven European countries – Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal and Spain – were collected and used to compare terminology and frequencies of lesion codes connected with partial or total condemnation. Hereby, we were able to identify a common top-10 list for the lesion codes leading to partial and total condemnation, respectively. We will subsequently apply a Strengths-WeaknessesOpportunities-Threats (SWOT) analysis to the coding systems. Moreover, we will identify variations in the top-10 list between countries and provide possible reasons behind the differences. Finally, we will compare reasons for unfitness of meat given in the EU Regulation to the national lesion code lists. The current work will subsequently continue with an in-depth collection and analysis of data about the different lesion code systems in place in a higher number of European countries. The work to be done could be used by the individual countries to update their coding system towards a more harmonised system, while respecting the epidemiological situation and the food safety culture in the country, as well as the trade agreements in place.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
