Bacteriological examination in place in five European countries to assess carcass fitness for consumption during meat inspection
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In the European Union, bacteriological examination (BE) can be used as a decision support tool for an individual slaughter animal, if a clear decision regarding fitness for human consumption cannot be reached after performing the post-mortem meat inspection at the abattoir. The mandatory use of BE started already in the beginning of 20th century and the methods have since evolved in the different countries using it. Although still in use, discussions have taken place on whether BE is still a useful part of meat inspection. Currently, there is no European consensus regarding how to set up the methods or how to interpret the results. Still, there is a need to avoid unnecessary food waste, while at the same time guaranteeing food safety. In this descriptive study, we mapped the BE methods currently used in five European countries, namely Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. The results show there is considerable variation between the countries regarding the specific analyses, sample matrices and media used. There is also variation in the indications when BE should be performed as well as when the results lead to condemnation. Although the results will be interpreted together with the pathological findings in the carcass, clearly written instructions should be available on how to interpret the results and when to perform condemnation. BE is used more often for cattle than for pigs, and e.g., in Denmark, BE is not used for pigs due to costs. Although BE can still be used to detect animals with a generalised infection at the time of slaughter, other methods that would be easier to standardise and accredit should be developed.
| Originalsprog | Engelsk |
|---|---|
| Artikelnummer | 109946 |
| Tidsskrift | Food Control |
| Vol/bind | 153 |
| ISSN | 0956-7135 |
| DOI | |
| Status | Udgivet - 2023 |
Bibliografisk note
Funding Information:
This publication is based upon work from COST Action 18105 (Risk-based Meat Inspection and Integrated Meat Safety Assurance; www.ribmins.com ), supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology ; www.cost.eu ).
Funding Information:
In the European Union (EU), laboratory analyses, such as bacteriological examination (BE), can be used to support a meat inspection decision for an individual slaughter animal, if a clear decision regarding fitness for human consumption cannot be reached after performing the post-mortem inspection at the abattoir (EU 2019/627). Visibly sick animals should not be transported to an abattoir or if they enter an abattoir, they should be rejected in ante-mortem inspection (EC No 853/2004; EU 2019/627). A BE is indicated if, e.g., post-mortem findings point to a prior systemic infection (Kogka et al., 2021). Moreover, emergency slaughter has historically been one of the primary reasons for performing a BE (Alban et al., 2020; Edelmann, 1920) and on-farm casualty slaughtered animals have been shown to contain higher bacterial counts inside meat, liver and spleen than healthy cattle (Coello et al., 2007). The use of BE helps to reach a decision on whether to accept or condemn a carcass and the organs, whereby unnecessary food waste is prevented in a safe way.Lis Alban works for an organisation that give advice to farmers and meat-producing companies. Riikka Laukkanen-Ninios’ employment is partly funded by the Finnish Food Authority. Elisabeth G. Biesta-Peters, Kees van der Ark, Mariel Pikkemaat, Nina Langkabel and Sergio Ghidini declare no conflict of interest.This publication is based upon work from COST Action 18105 (Risk-based Meat Inspection and Integrated Meat Safety Assurance; www.ribmins.com), supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology; www.cost.eu).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
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