UK: Salmonella awards feature at pig fair
The first Platinum Pig Awards for pig units with low levels of salmonella will be announced at British Pig and Poultry Fair, which will take place on 13-14 May next.
The new awards are designed to act as an incentive to all pig-keepers to cut salmonella in the national herd to 10%, or less.
To win a platinum award a unit will have to have Salmonella levels under 10% for a year, as shown by positive and suspect reports from the new Zoonoses National Control Programme, which was introduced this month.
In 2002, the Zoonoses Action Plan (ZAP) began with the aim to reduce the risk to consumers from salmonella in pigmeat products. The target was to reduce the proportion of finisher pigs testing positive to the meat-juice salmonella test and thereby reduce the prevalence of salmonella in the national herd.
The scheme has unfortunately failed. The level of meat-juice salmonella positive results has not fallen. So the Zoonoses National Control Programme has been introduced in its place.
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