Official Veterinarians Research Articles

Council Regulation (EC) No. 1099/2009: State of the Art and Its Application in a Local Health Unit in Piedmont, Italy.

In the last decade, the European Union has reinforced the concept of animal welfare throughout the food chain, from breeding to slaughtering. Studies and assessments of economic nature led to the adoption of Regulation EC 1099/2009 and at the end of 2014 this regulation will be applied to all the members involved in the food chain. For this reason several local health units organized different initiatives. The local health unit of Turin no. 4 (ASLTO4) has developed a project aimed to train food business operators (FBO) to fulfill all the criteria developed in this Regulation. This initiative was divided into four steps: i) communication to the companies about the criteria of the new regulation; ii) a training course for official veterinarians; iii) slaughterhouse audits in order to get information about animal welfare; iv) and a training course for the personnel involved in slaughterhouses. The purpose of this paper was to report the results of the audits in order to identify critical points of structural, instrumental and documentary facilities. Then, the results can be compared with similar studies in order to develop common strategies and intervention areas.

Effects of centralizing meat inspection and food safety inspections in Finnish small-scale slaughterhouses

The official control of small-scale slaughterhouses has received criticism for inconsistent meat inspection fees and for the poor quality guidance and cooperation with food business operators (FBO) in Finland. The official control including both meat inspection (ante and post mortem) and food safety inspections (verification of FBO’s self-inspection) of small-scale slaughterhouses was centralized from municipalities to the National Food Safety Authority (NFSA) in 2011 to address these perceived shortcomings. This study aimed to investigate the early effects of the centralization of meat inspection and food safety inspections, specifically the standardization of meat inspection fees and the quality of meat inspection services. In March all small-scale slaughterhouses (n=52) received a questionnaire on the effects of centralizing meat inspection. We interviewed 12 small-scale slaughterhouses on site and the official veterinarians of ten of these small-scale slaughterhouses by phone.The results showed that introducing a meat inspection fee structure based on fixed hourly taxation that includes a fixed travel expense, can lead to more standardized fees. The variation in meat inspection fees after centralization was significantly smaller (Levene’s test, p=0.013) than before. Moreover, after centralization, meat inspection fees and the number of slaughtered animal units per year showed no significant correlation. Meat inspection fees decreased for the majority of FBOs, which was expected because of the government subsidies the FBOs received. The majority of FBOs perceived the guidance as good both before and after centralization, and both FBOs and official veterinarians assessed their cooperation as good. The availability of official veterinarians to perform ante and post mortem inspections posed no problem for most FBOs. However, 50% of the FBOs interviewed stated that the official veterinarian had performed no food safety inspections after centralization, which can negatively impact food safety. The majority of the official veterinarians stated that the guidance they received from the NFSA improved after centralization, but they still urged more guidance on interpreting food safety requirements and performing food safety inspections.

Distribution and importance of meat inspection tasks in Finnish high-capacity slaughterhouses

Transferring meat inspection tasks from food safety authorities to slaughterhouses has sparked interest worldwide in the pursuit of cost-efficiency. In Finland, two main organizational models for meat inspection are used: official auxiliaries are employed 1) by the authority or 2) by the slaughterhouse (possible only in poultry slaughterhouses). Here, we examined the functionality of these two different organizational models by issuing a questionnaire to the official veterinarians, official auxiliaries, slaughterhouse representatives and authorities responsible for organizing and guiding meat inspection in Finland. The questionnaire enquired how the distribution of food chain information (FCI), ante mortem and post mortem inspection tasks function in red meat and poultry slaughterhouses, and whether changes in the distribution should be made. Views on the importance of these meat inspection tasks were also evaluated. Our results showed that meat inspection personnel, slaughterhouse representatives and the officials guiding and organizing meat inspection considered ante and post mortem inspections important or very important. Both in red meat and poultry slaughterhouses, the meat inspection organizational model functioned well in relation to ante and post mortems inspections, which is essential for effective and precise inspection. FCI inspection was considered less important than ante and post mortem inspections, and respondents observed serious problems in receiving accurate FCI, which should be promptly resolved. It is also of concern that official red meat veterinarians considered FCI inspection significantly less important in relation to animal welfare than the officials organizing and guiding meat inspection. Authorities should have a mutual understanding of the importance of the tasks to ensure uniformity of official control. In the red meat slaughterhouses, most of the official veterinarians, official auxiliaries and slaughterhouse representatives considered it essential for consumer confidence that official auxiliaries employed by the authority perform post mortem inspection. The role of the official veterinarian in ante mortem inspection and whole carcass-condemnation (in red meat slaughterhouses) was also highly valued by the respondents.

Pseudoendogenous presence of β-boldenone sulphate and glucuronide in untreated young bulls from the food chain

The administration of boldenone (bold) to bovines, either for growth promotion or therapeutic purposes, has been banned in the EU since 1981. It is, however, a pseudoendogenous hormone, thus its detection in bovine urine, in the form of α-boldenone conjugates, is considered fully compliant up to 2 ng ml−1. Greater attention has been placed on β-boldenone, the anabolic active epimer, whose conjugated form must be absent in urine. Recently, the identification of a biomarker representing unquestionable evidence of illicit treatment with bold or its precursor androstadienedione has been a major topic in the literature regarding the detection of residues in bovine urine, and β-boldenone sulphate is a candidate molecule. In this study, we used a method previously validated according to the European Commission Decision 2002/657/EC for the determination of sulphate and glucuronide conjugates of β-boldenone. We assessed the occurrence of these molecules in young bull urine, with the aim of understanding whether they could be of endogenous origin, and to check for a possible relationship with particular environmental and stress conditions. Urine samples from 56 young bulls were collected after transport stress, under non-stressful conditions and after transport and slaughter stress. Histopathological investigation of the hormone target organs, i.e. the bulbourethral and prostate glands, was also performed. The results indicate an inverse relationship between the presence and concentration of β-boldenone sulpho- and gluco-conjugates in urine, and stress conditions, expressed by the absence of detection at the slaughterhouse. No significant macroscopic and histologic lesions were detected. Our study indicates that β-boldenone sulphate could be a biomarker of treatment only at the slaughterhouse, while at the farm, in untreated animals (i.e. after a five-month period under the control of Official Veterinarians), sulphate and glucuronide metabolites were found with a frequency of 78% and 46%, respectively, showing the endogenous origin of boldenone.

Assessment of behavior and physical condition of shelter cats as animal-based indicators of welfare

Surveillance of cat shelters by official veterinarians in Austria is based on legal requirements and does not directly assess cat welfare. The aim of this study was to develop animal-based parameters that are feasible to measure in a surveillance setting, stable over time, and reproducible by different raters. We assessed physical condition (body condition, eye and nose discharge, and coat and skin) and behavior of the cats (aggressive interactions, play behavior, behavior toward humans) and also collected data about housing conditions, shelter management, and the shelter cat population. The validity of the animal-based parameters was assessed by examining relationships with housing conditions. Thirty animal shelters housing a median of 63 cats each were studied. Cats were kept mostly in groups (mean size, 7). Adult cats housed in the shelter for at least 4 weeks (24 � 18 per shelter) were included. Testeretest reliability of the animalbased parameters was assessed by visiting 10 shelters twice approximately 2 months apart. To assess interrater reliability (IRR), 36 pens were evaluated by 2 raters. Two parameters were stable over time with acceptable IRR. The proportion of very thin cats (body condition score of 1/5) and the proportion of cats with a poor coat condition correlated highly with no significant difference between visits (%catsverythin: r s ¼ 0.84, P ¼ 0.002, Wilcoxon test: P ¼ 0.225; %catspoorcoat :r s ¼ 0.86, P ¼ 0.002, Wilcoxon test: P ¼ 0.128). IRR was moderate for %catsverythin (rs ¼ 0.63, P < 0.001) and good for %catspoorcoat (rs ¼ 0.87, P < 0.001). The physical condition of the cats was found to correlate with housing conditions; for example, an increased proportion of very thin cats correlated with a higher proportion of pens with less than 1 lying area per cat (rs ¼ 0.54, P < 0.05) and with a lower proportion of pens with hiding places for all cats (rs ¼ � 0.54, P < 0.05). Poorer scores for coat condition correlated with longer mean length of stay in the shelter (rs ¼ 0.46, P < 0.05), fewer cat toilets per cat (rs ¼� 0.37, P < 0.05), and a more unpleasant odor (rs ¼ 0.57, P < 0.05). Our results show that simple animal-based parameters can give an indication of how well cats cope with their environment and suggest that the use of these parameters, in addition to the assessment of conformance with legal requirements for shelter surveillance, could be beneficial for cat welfare.

Delivering OV training.

Sue Hay wanted to be a vet from her early teens - 'no other career path stood a chance' - but her determination was tested. After qualifying, she worked in practice, raised her family and then joined the State Veterinary Service. More recently she joined Improve International as Head of Practical Skills, delivering training and revalidation of Official Veterinarians.

Protection animale : nouvelle gouvernance et perspectives européennes

Depuis les États généraux du sanitaire de 2010, destinés à réformer la gouvernance sanitaire en France et en particulier à mieux redéfinir les missions du vétérinaire sanitaire (habilité ou mandaté), une nouvelle organisation s’est mise en place concernant notamment la construction et la consultation de comités dédiés à la protection animale au niveau national et régional. Cette nouvelle organisation est explicitée dans cet article. Par ailleurs, dans le contexte général de la mise en place de «Paquets cadres» par l’Union Européenne comme le Paquet Hygiène ou le Paquet Santé «Health Law» , est prévue, pour faire suite au Plan d’action 2012-2015 de la Commission européenne, une «Welfare Law» . Le but de ce projet, affiché par les instances communautaires, est de moderniser et simplifier les textes communautaires actuels concernant la protection des animaux. Pour ce faire, la Commission se base, comme dans les autres «Law» d’une obligation de résultats primant sur l’obligation et le contrôle des moyens, système inspiré des pratiques «HACCP» . Ce système octroie plus de responsabilités aux opérateurs ou professionnels. Il prévoit, entre autres, des autocontrôles dont les résultats seront à postériori contrôlés par les vétérinaires officiels (en France : inspecteurs de santé publique vétérinaires).

Brazilian foot and mouth disease status and meat exportation to the European Union

The aim of this study was to define the differences between the Brazilian states that export and do not export meat to the European Union (EU) and to identify the variables that are important to meet the export requirements. Infrastructure and computerization of the control of animal transit in Brazil that impact on regional health status were evaluated and linked to other variables such as status for foot and mouth disease (FMD) and qualification to export meat to EU. Variables related to transit control of bovines implemented by the state agencies of animal health and inspection in each Brazilian state were evaluated. Using a discriminant analysis, four variables were selected that explained the variation between Brazilian states that were "free" and "not free" of FMD while another four were selected to explain the variation between the zones "approved" and "not approved" to export meat to the EU, including number of official veterinarians, total transit of bovines and buffaloes, total number of animal transit certificates issued for bovine and buffaloes at the state or zone level, and total number of municipalities in the state or zone. It was possible to correctly discriminate between "free" and "not free" FMD states or zones. Variables related to animal transit are important in assessing the state for the classification of animal health situation and for EU approval for the exportation of meat.

Management practices to control gastrointestinal parasites in sheep farms in Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil

Parasite related problems are considered one of the major health problems for sheep breeding, causing considerable economic losses to commercial husbandry. The aim of this study was to determine the technological level and the level of knowledge of farmers regarding management practices to control gastrointestinal parasites in sheep in Minas Gerais state, southeastern Brazil. The analysis was based on 213 questionnaires applied by official veterinarians of the State Government Agency for Animal Health (Instituto Mineiro de Agropecuária, IMA), covering 16.6% of all counties. From two hundred and thirteen sheep farms sampled, 117 farms had their technological level determined. From the samples, 0.9% were characterized as high level, 45.3% as medium, and 53.0% as low technological level. The flock size ranged from 2 to 1843 with an average of 80.5 sheep per farm. The majority of the sheep production systems was extensive/semi-extensive (74.5%). The management practices adopted by the farmers to reduce parasitism were: split young and adult animals (5.6%), change pasture after deworm the animals (5.2%), use quarantine for incoming animals (2.3%), deworm newly arrived sheep (1.5%), and have regular technical assistance (31.9%). Although 76.5% of the farmers medicate the animals, treatments were performed without any major technical criteria, with an average interval of 4.6 months. The most commonly used drug families were macrocyclic lactones (38.5%) and benzimidazoles (24.9%). The management practices adopted in Minas Gerais are based on old recommendations and may not return in a good set of strategies to prevent parasite infections. Field observations reinforce the finding where farmers have obtained unsatisfactory results in maintaining the health and productivity level of their enterprises.

The need for monitoring farm animal welfare during mass killing for disease eradication purposes

AbstractThe term ‘depopulation’ is used in this case to describe mass euthanasia or killing of groups of animals on a farm for emergency disease eradication purposes. There are a number of guidelines for monitoring animal welfare during such operations, eg the OIE Terrestrial Health Code and the EU regulation on protection of animals at the time of killing, which can be useful when designing a specific monitoring system for depopulation. In this paper, the responsibilities of the competent authorities are identified, and a systematic approach to monitoring on-farm killing is proposed, including three major critical points: i) animal handling prior to killing; ii) the stun/kill quality, ie the effectiveness of the method used to render the animals unconscious and dead; and iii) confirmation of death prior to carcase disposal. The importance of good biosecurity routines, efficient disease detection systems, relevant training of staff and thorough contingency planning to prevent animal welfare problems from arising is strongly emphasised. It is the responsibility of national competent authorities to provide the appointed official veterinarians in charge of monitoring animal welfare during depopulation with proper tools, including anything from appropriate knowledge and practical checklists to the authority to demand immediate corrective action when necessary, and to develop systems for feedback and incorporation of experiences from previous outbreaks into the national contingency plans.

The prevalence of Salmonella enterica in Spanish feed mills and potential feed-related risk factors for contamination

A cross-sectional study was conducted in Spain to estimate the prevalence of Salmonella enterica in feed mills and to identify and evaluate potential risk factors associated with feed contamination. A total of 3844 samples were collected from 523 different feed mills using a stratified sampling method. Samples were tested for the presence of Salmonella using conventional culture methods. When the presence of Salmonella was detected, samples were further characterised using serotyping at the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for animal feed. Additional data about the biosecurity and hygiene measures, feed material used and compound feed produced, were collected by official veterinarians using a questionnaire in situ. In 144 of the feed mills visited (28%), Salmonella were present. However, it was only isolated from 4.8% of samples taken from all of the feed mills (3.5% from feed materials, 3.2% from compound feed and 12.5% from dust of the feed mill facilities). Salmonella serovars of public health importance ( Enteritidis, Typhimurium, Infantis, Virchow and Hadar), were detected in only 2.7% of feed mills and in 0.3% of the samples studied. Logistic regression was used to investigate potential feed-mill risk factors for the isolation of Salmonella. Feed mill intake pits were demonstrated to have an increased risk of culture-positive dust samples (OR = 6.4; 95% CI: 2.7–15.1). The feed material used in the production of compound feed was associated with recovery of Salmonella. Of the feed material used, cotton seeds were identified as having the highest odds of contamination (OR = 3.8; 95% CI: 1.7–8.3). Pelleting appears to reduce the chance of contamination because non-pelleted compound feed is 8 times more likely to be contaminated than pelleted compound feed (OR = 8.2; 95% CI: 2.5–26.6). The role of the feed itself in the epidemiology of Salmonella seems to be of limited importance as compound feed is not frequently contaminated at the feed mill level. This should not preclude Salmonella control measures from including all stages of feed production and they should have a risk-based approach according to the findings of this study.

The implementation of animal welfare standards by Member countries of the World organisation for animal Health (OIE): analysis of an OIE questionnaire

A questionnaire on the status of animal welfare legislation and its implementation was distributed by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) to 172 Member Countries in 2008. Overall, 45% of questionnaires were returned. The response rate varied from 25% in Africa to 69% in Europe. Eighty-seven percent of respondent countries indicated that there was a competent national veterinary authority for animal welfare legislation in their country. In many countries, the authority responsible for the operational implementation of animal welfare legislation appears to be the same as the authority responsible for creating the legislation. Forty-nine (66%) respondents identified a veterinary authority as being responsible for the implementation of animal welfare legislation at a state or provincial level. Most respondent countries indicated that they had legislation covering animal transport (83%), the slaughter of animals for human consumption (91%), the killing of animals for disease control (86%) and dog control (61%). Training courses on animal welfare were available for official veterinarians, private veterinarians, producers and processors in 73%, 44%, 57% and 51% of respondent countries, respectively. Eighty-two percent of respondent countries exported live animals to other countries and 56% of respondent countries indicated that personnel handling animals during transport were aware of OIE standards on animal welfare or other standards. Many European countries require transporters to be trained and certified according to European Union regulations. It was mandatory to stun livestock prior to slaughter in 31% of countries, but in 57% religious exceptions were allowed, and in 8% stunning was not mandatory. The most commonly used method of stunning was mechanical but electrical stunning was also common. It was mandatory to stun livestock prior to killing for disease control in 44% of countries but it was not mandatory in 43%. There was legislation on humane killing in 74% of countries, but in 25% of countries there was no such legislation. The national veterinary authority was responsible for these regulations in most (71%) respondent countries. In 73% of respondent countries the personnel who conducted killing for disease control were generally aware of the domestic legislation for animal welfare. Of all the problems considered, the problem of stray dog management was ranked as 'major' or 'severe' more often than any of the other issues. Killing for disease control was mentioned as a problem by one respondent, but only if services were overwhelmed. In the animal transport section of the questionnaire, long-distance transport was the major issue. Many respondents had no problems with any of these issues.

Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar Choleraesuis in a wild boar population in Germany

Salmonella (S.) enterica subspecies enterica serovar Choleraesuis, the swine-adapted serovar is found rarely in Western European countries including Germany. However, the regional laboratory of the federal state Thuringia in Germany examined diseased wild boars routinely also for the occurrence of Salmonella organisms. Between 2006 and 2008, only the serovar S. Choleraesuis was islolated from 24 animals, three strains isolated from domestic pigs were included. In order to detect a possible epidemiological context, the strains of S. Choleraesuis were characterised by macrorestriction and plasmid analysis, repetitive sequence PCR, antimicrobial testing and determining the biochemical profile. A combination of all methods enabled the identification of five epidemiological groups. Two groups were detected in the same territory but three other discriminative groups were predominant in different regions. S. Choleraesuis strains of the different epidemiological groups circulate in wild boar populations in the corresponding regions. However, it could be concluded that both natural barriers like mountains and artificial barriers like arterial roads may cause the separation of wild boar populations and as a result also the respective S. Choleraesuis organisms. The occurrence of the identical epidemiological groups in wild boars and domestic pigs indicates the possible mutual exposure of the pathogen. To avoid risks for human and domestic pig health regular inspection of meat from wildlife by official veterinarians and advice of hunters and persons who prepare and consume wild boar meat should be enhanced.

Mass culling in the context of animal disease outbreaks--veterinarians caught between ethical issues and control policies

In recent years controversial discussions arose during major animal disease outbreaks in the EU about the ethical soundness of mass culling. In contrast to numerous publications about ethical issues and laboratory animals/animal experiments, literature concerning ethical deliberations in the case of mass culling as a means of outbreak control remain scarce. Veterinarians in charge of decision about and implementation of mass culling actions find themselves in an area of conflict in between the officially required animal disease control policy and a public that is increasingly critical. Those veterinarians are faced with the challenge to defend the relevant decisions against all stakeholders and also themselves. In this context an interdisciplinary workshop was initiated in Switzerland in October 2007 with ethicians and (official) veterinarians from Germany, Switzerland and Austria. With the aim to identify ethical components of animal disease control for official veterinarians, talks and moderated group discussions took place. This article summarizes selected discussion points and conclusions.

L’Ordre national des docteurs vétérinaires malagasy et le contrôle de qualité des vétérinaires privés à Madagascar

Veterinary medicine was introduced into Madagascar with the arrival of French settlers in the early 1900s. At first, veterinary practitioners were all French, and they trained Madagascan veterinary auxiliaries. The first Madagascan veterinarians were trained in French veterinary schools. The idea of organising the profession dates back to the 1970s, but only in 1991 was the Animal Health Law, covering the veterinary profession, adopted by the National Assembly; it was promulgated by President Ratsiraka on July 25 of that same year. Thus, the National Order of Veterinary Doctors of Madagascar (ONDVM: Ordre national des docteurs vétérinaires malagasy) was instituted by a decree in February 1992. All veterinarians and paraprofessionals were employed in the public sector at the time and this new structure proved vital for the private exercise of the veterinary profession. With the adoption of a new national livestock policy, vaccination against major cattle and swine diseases became a profitable activity. One of the objectives of the sectoral livestock programme was that a total of 90 new posts for veterinarians should be created and located throughout the different regions and rural townships of the country. The Centre de promotion vétérinaire (Centre for Veterinary Promotion), which was created in 1992, was the organisation charged with carrying out this task. In 1998, once the private veterinarians were installed, a survey was undertaken with the aim of making an exhaustive assessment of all private veterinarians, collecting data from the public veterinary stations in zones covered by private veterinarians, and establishing a programme of disengagement and withdrawal of the decentralised services, particularly the public veterinary stations. More recently, the Administration and the ONDVM have been facing various organisational problems, notably with regard to the different levels of animal health staff working in the field. Thus, the Order is currently waging a mobilisation and awareness campaign for the adoption of a new animal health law. All new measures would be aimed at strengthening the management of artificial insemination centres and border protection and improving the work of all those involved in animal health: official and private veterinarians and members of the Order of Veterinary Doctors and the Order of Veterinary Paraprofessionals.

Organs of slaughter pigs as a source of potential risk for human health in the Czech Republic during the years 1995-2002

The level of risk for human health originating from organs of slaughter pigs was determined on the basis of carcass inspection classification at slaughterhouses in the Czech Republic during the period of 1995&amp;ndash;2002. The following pig&amp;rsquo;s organs were included in the study: the lungs, heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, stomach, and intestines. A potential level of risk relating to food safety of different organs was determined according to the numbers of the organs condemned by official veterinarians. At the same time total number of slaughtered animals was also considered. The trend of the development of potential risk was determined as an index equal to the ratio of the occurrence of condemned organs during the period of 1999&amp;ndash;2002 to the same figures from the period of 1995&amp;ndash;1998. The highest level of potential risk was found in porcine lungs (at the level of 66.30%) followed by kidneys (18.14%), liver (17.20%) and heart (5.15%). Increasing trend in the development of risk was found for the lungs (index 1.19), spleen (1.16) and heart (1.15). The trends were confirmed as highly significant (&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;P&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt; &amp;lt; 0.01). The results indicating high levels of potential risk for food safety and increasing trends in the aforementioned organs of pigs confirmed the importance of veterinary inspection at slaughterhouses and classification of organs of slaughter pigs by official veterinarians. This way the risks for food safety are eliminated.

The risks posed by the importation of animals vaccinated against foot and mouth disease and products derived from vaccinated animals: a review.

The Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the OIE (World organisation for animal health) (the Terrestrial Code) makes recommendations for international movements of live animals and animal products because of a possible generic risk of foot and mouth disease (FMD) for these different commodities. For instance, international movement of vaccinated live animals or products of such animals is restricted due to the possible masking of clinical disease as a result of vaccination and to the perceived risk of persistently infected animals among vaccinated livestock. In addition, bilateral agreements between exporting and importing countries on the importation of animal products can be based on the 'equivalence' of the animal health conditions in both countries, or on formal or informal risk assessments in accordance with the norms and recommendations of the Terrestrial Code. In this regard, an exporting country may be required to prepare a complete and transparent document describing the animal health situation, including the factors required to assess the risk involved. Furthermore, expert committees of importing countries regularly evaluate and verify these conditions in exporting countries. The level of confidence in the information obtained by the expert committee can then be entered into the risk analysis equation. An important FMD risk reduction factor for the importation of animals and animal products is early recognition of the disease at the source of the commodity by alert stakeholders, such as official and private veterinarians and the chain of the livestock industry. This is true for all countries irrespective of their vaccination status. The risk posed by the importation of vaccinated animals becomes negligible when an adequate protocol--in compliance with the norms and recommendations of the Terrestrial Code--is applied. However, recently, export of live animals from countries that do not practise vaccination has also proven to pose a significant risk and the rules governing such transport may have to be reviewed. Disease surveillance, biosecurity at the farm level, traceability and control of the source cattle and slaughterhouse inspections are the main risk reduction measures for meat and meat products from vaccinated cattle. If these animals are slaughtered and processed under good management practice--in accordance with the norms and recommendations of the Terrestrial Code--these products present a negligible risk for the introduction of FMD. Risk reduction by maturation and deboning is an important procedure, but is probably overemphasised. Mechanical contamination of cattle carcasses with 'carrier virus' from the pharyngeal area during slaughter and processing is very unlikely. Risk assessments showed that the importation of milk products from countries or zones that practise vaccination of dairy herds poses a negligible risk. Risk assessments also demonstrated that the importation of bovine embryos from vaccinated cows--in accordance with the norms and recommendations of the Terrestrial Code--poses a negligible risk. Likewise, the risk from the importation of semen from vaccinated bulls is also negligible when an adequate test protocol is applied in accordance with the Terrestrial Code.

Les modes de collaboration entre vétérinaires officiels, vétérinaires privés et organisations d'éleveurs

In order to guarantee that only healthy animals and safe animal products are placed on the market, official veterinarians, private veterinarians and livestock producer organisations must work together within a single structure that reports to a single centralised authority. Each party must participate in developing and implementing programmes, in financing these programmes and in taking responsibility for the results (joint decision-making, joint financing, joint accountability). The author describes how this mode of collaboration and integration between the three parties operates, and explains their duties and obligations.

A Survey of Bovine Salmonellosis in Mid and West Wales

Implementation of well-functioning hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP)-based self-checking systems (SCSs) is crucial for meat safety in slaughterhouses (SHs). However, if these SCSs fail, control measures used by official veterinarians (OVs) should be efficient enough to secure the safety of the meat. To examine the control measures used by the OVs and the cases of noncompliance in the implementation of SH SCSs, we issued a survey to the chief OVs in high-capacity SHs in Finland during spring 2014. The expertise of the OVs and the quality of guidance they received were also examined. Our results showed that the most common and severe cases of noncompliance in the implementation of high-capacity SH SCSs in Finland were associated with hygiene. Those SHs with high frequencies of noncompliance were all smaller high-capacity units in which written time limits for correction of noncompliance and enforcement measures were less commonly used. Most OVs felt that they did not receive sufficient competent guidance in performing food safety inspections, and in some SHs the expertise of the OVs in administrative procedures and food safety legislation should be improved. To further ensure meat safety, OVs, especially in SHs with high frequencies of noncompliance, should be encouraged to use more effective control measures.