Post-mortem inspection of pigs in the EU to change next year
The amended EU regulation laying down specific rules for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption (EC No 854/2004), which will apply from June 1, 2014, will require only visual inspection of pigs after they have been slaughtered. The European Parliament still has to approve the change before it can enter into force. The institution is not expected to oppose the measure.
The change follows a recommendation by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) which concluded in a 2011 scientific opinion that palpation and incisions pose a risk of cross contamination with bacteria in slaughtered pigs.
"EFSA concluded that palpation or incisions used in current post-mortem inspection should be omitted in pigs subjected to routine slaughter, because the risk of microbial cross contamination is higher than the risk associated with potentially reduced detection of conditions targeted by those techniques," the European Commission explained. These methods should only be used if post-mortem visual inspections of pigs reveal abnormalities or if the official veterinarian has any reasons to suspect that the meat from the slaughtered pigs may pose any risks to human consumption, according to Brussels.
The main hazards veterinarians should watch out for when conducting inspections at slaughterhouses are salmonella, yersinia enterocolitica and trichinella, EFSA said in its opinion. It noted however that palpation and incisions were not able to detect these bacteria early. The two methods could make a difference only in a limited number of cases, according to EFSA. "The abolition of palpation and/or incision would lead to a reduction in detection of some diseases but that in cases where several organs are affected, this effect was likely to be minimal," the scientific opinion read.
EFSA has also published scientific guidance on inspection rules for poultry, cattle, sheep and goats, farmed game and horses, but these still await a decision from ministers and MEPs on whether to write then into EU legislation.
