Design of a Risk based Control System for Toxoplasma gondii in a pork supply chain

We compared the results from meat inspection of organic/free-range finishing pigs versus conventionally-raised pigs. Data covered a period of 1 year and were collected from one abattoir in Denmark. In total,there were 201,160 organic/free-range pigs and 1,173,213 conventionally raised pigs. Over-all speaking,there was an equal number of lesions recorded in the two kinds of production systems. The majority ofthe lesion types were recorded infrequently (<4%). Only chronic pleuritis was a common finding in bothtypes of production systems. A total of 13 lesion types were more frequent among organic/free-range pigsthan among conventional pigs among others old fractures, tail lesions and osteomyelitis. Four lesion typeswere equally frequent in the two groups: chronic pneumonia, chronic pleuritis, fresh fracture, and abscessin head/ear. Four lesion types were recorded less frequently among organic/free-range pigs comparedwith conventionally raised pigs. These included abscess in leg/toe, hernia and scar/hock lesion. Possibleassociations between the individual lesion types and the production systems including the requirementsfor each system are discussed. The results emphasize the importance of using direct animal basedparameters when evaluating animal welfare in different types of production systems. Moreover, individualsolutions to the health problems observed in a herd should be found, e.g. in collaboration with the veterinarypractitioner and other advisors. IntroductionIt is often argued that pigs raised under less intensive production conditions – such as organic or free-range – have a higher level of animal welfare compared with conventionally raised pigs. To look into this,an analysis of data from a large Danish abattoir slaughtering organic, free-range, and conventionally raisedfinishing pigs was undertaken. In Denmark, pig production plays a substantial role, representing an exportvalue of €4.3 billion out of a total of €82.7 billion. The largest Danish abattoir company is Danish Crown.Almost all pigs raised under special animal welfare contracts in Denmark are slaughtered in one specificplant owned by Danish Crown. The company “Friland A/S”,” owned by Danish Crown, has special contractswith farmers, who raise pigs according to the rules set for organic pig production (Friland økologiske svin)or the rules set for “Frilandsgrisen” which deals with non-organic outdoor production. The pig genetics aresimilar in these two types of production systems as well as in the conventional production, and almost allmale pigs are castrated. Material and Methods In Denmark, finishing pigs are subjected to ante mortem and post mortem inspection at the abattoirperformed by a specially trained inspector – a veterinarian or a technician. Hence, every slaughter animalis inspected according to the current meat inspection circular, and lesions found during the inspectionare recorded electronically. One common coding system with more than 70 codes is in use at all Danishabattoirs (Anonymous, 2011). Data covered a period of 1 year and were collected from one abattoirslaughtering organic, free-range and conventional pigs. They comprised 201,160 organic/free-range pigs