Evaluation of pig welfare in lairage and process hygiene in a single abattoir

Ivan Nastasijevic; Brankica Lakicevic; Mladen Raseta; Vesna Z Djordjevic; Vesna Jankovic; Boris Mrdovic; Ivana Brankovic-Lazic

doi:10.18485/meattech.2018.59.1.2

Ivan Nastasijevic Institute of meat hygiene and technology
Brankica Lakicevic Institute of meat hygiene and technology
Mladen Raseta Institute of meat hygiene and technology
Vesna Z Djordjevic Institute of meat hygiene and technology
Vesna Jankovic Institute of meat hygiene and technology
Boris Mrdovic Institute of meat hygiene and technology
Ivana Brankovic-Lazic Institute of meat hygiene and technology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18485/meattech.2018.59.1.2

Keywords: abattoir lairage, pig welfare, slaughter, process hygiene

Abstract

: Food safety is indirectly affected by the welfare of food animals, due to close links between animal welfare, animal health and food borne diseases. Stress factors and poor welfare can lead to increased susceptibility to disease among animals and may intensify the fecal shedding of food borne pathogens, e.g. Salmonella, Campylobacter, Yersinia, and human pathogenic STEC in the pre-slaughter phase: on-farm, in transport and in lairage. This study evaluated two aspects: a) assessment of pig welfare in abattoir lairage founded on animal-based categories, and b) the relationship between pig welfare and microbial process hygiene at slaughter. The results revealed that the animal-based category ‘manure on the body’ assessed in abattoir lairage corresponded with microbial process hygiene at slaughter.