21st Century considerations on

pork production and quality assurance

Seminar Livestock Development & Food Safety

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 31 March 2011

Prof.dr. Frans van Knapen, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences

Division of Veterinary Public Health, Utrecht University

Veterinary medicine

production, health and welfare

animals

health and welfare of humans

Veterinary public health is that part of public

health activities using veterinary skills,
knowledge and resources to protection and
improvement of human health and human welfare.

Veterinary Public Health concerns:

PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING OF FOOD OF

ANIMAL ORIGIN

COMPANION ANIMALS
ENVIRONMENT

Development in Veterinary Public

1.

(organized) fight against animal diseases

2.

Meat inspection and zoonoses control

3.

Health sciences.

Health; three phases:

Development in Veterinary Public

Health (1)
(organized) fight against animal diseases

Europe in the 19th century

Third world countries

Developed countries without veterinary infrastructure.

Poverty reduction goes together with

food security.
security

Animals are needed for:

- food
- tractive power
- transport

Veterinary Public Health phase 1

= food security

Development in Veterinary
Public Health (2)
Meat inspection and zoonoses control

Most countries of modern world

Regulation by legislation.

Veterinary Public Health phase 2

= food safety

Development in Veterinary Public

Health (3)
Health sciences

A few countries or regions with industrialized

animal food production.

Per definition wealthy countries.

Development in Veterinary Public

Health (3)

Healthy feed healthy animals healthy food

Animal welfare

Environment protection

Novel food, fast food, neutroceuticals.

Veterinary Public Health phase 3

= food acceptance

Meat inspection:
Phase 1:

dont waste animal protein.

Phase 2:

- traditional meat inspection.

- Salmonella control at farm level
(monitoring).

Phase 3:

new concept of process control

and certification.
(GMP, GVP, HACCP etc.)
surveillance = monitoring + measures!

Food security
Food safety
Food acceptance

Traditional veterinarian (stage 2)

Diseased animals
Meat inspection (64/433/EU)
(71/118/EU)
Veterinary inspection markets, exhibitions etc.

Modern and future veterinarian

(stage 3)
Quality manager in the food chain:
Healthy feed

- healthy animals -

healthy food

No place for diseased animals in the food chain

(EU, 1994)

Lean animals

Cripple animals

Downers

are not necessarily sick animals.

at some degree of inconvenience animal
welfare comes into consideration.
special abattoirs or logistic slaughtering.

Quality of meat (products) is not of

veterinary concern !
Animal welfare and food safety are !

Changes in the sector:

until 1960: relatively small scale farming.

then:

scaling up, specialisation, mechanisation.

Changes in the sector:

After 1980: traditional farming

industrial farming

Changes in the sector:

after 1990: - industrialised farming

- vertical farming
- integrated quality control

Changes in the society (1)

Animal welfare

1900 animal protection act

(to protect society against visible cruelty!)

Animals are objects, not beings

1975 laboratory animal act.
publics agitation about animal fur industry

2000 publics agitation about:

mass culling
yes/no vaccination
animal industry
animal transports.

Changes in the society (2)

Until 1980

producers market

After 2000

consumers market

Changes in the society (3)

The communitys perception of animal welfare

has dramatically changed.

Animals have become beings with intrinsicality.

There is a strong plea for small scale animal

handling.

Changes in the society (4)

Greenpeace.

Animal rights groups.

Animal Liberation Front.

Green (political) parties.

Party for the Animals (the Netherlands).

Breeding

Food Safety:

Transportation
Raising
Transportation
Slaughterhouse
Cutting
Packing
Distribution
Retail

- Quality assurance systems

- Each of the chains has its
responsibility to the others.
EU Food law (178/2002/EU)

Breeding
Raising
Transportation
Abattoir
Cutting
Packing
Distribution
Retail

pre-harvest

discussion
about
animal welfare

Public and political discussion

about animal welfare:

Farming: ecological, traditional, industrialised.

Transportation: crowding, stress, temperature
control, water facilities, long distance.
Abattoir: stunning, bleeding (ritual slaughter,
economics).

Industrialised

Pork production

Ecological farming

Industrialised pork production

Hygiene barriers.

Integrated quality control.

Animal welfare needs attention.

Environment protection.

Food safety guarantees

Ecological farming and

pork production

Small scale

Animal welfare

Environmental hygiene

Contamination cycles (microbial and nonmicrobial)

Food safety no guarantees !

Food safety guarantee in ecological

farming would include:

Residues (drugs, heavy metals, pesticides etc.)

Toxoplasma

Sarcocystis sp.

Trichinella

Cysticercosis

Salmonella

Yersinia

Who is preparared to pay for this?

Suggestion:
A-quality (raw products)
1.

Pork

B-quality (well treated products)

2.

Pork should be decontaminated in all cases

Conclusions on development
in veterinary public health
Phase 1:

- food security

strategic choices government

poverty reduction.

Phase 2:

- food safety

- rigid legislation (authority)

- product oriented.

Phase 3:

- food acceptance

quality assurance (companies)

process oriented
consumers demand.

Thank you for your attention