engleski

One Agri-Food Health Approach in the Meat Safety Assurance System

In our country, the One Health approach has been in place for decades, involving both veterinary and human health professionals to educate the public and eliminate public health threats based on existing risks. When it comes to food safety, especially meat, the roles and responsibilities of the different players at the pre-harvest, harvest, and post-harvest levels are obvious due to the complex interaction of many risk factors in the food chain. In recent years, new and certain traditional biological hazards have (re)emerged in meat production, so a targeted risk-based approach along the food chain is sought. The main biological hazards that need to be addressed in the meat chain of different animal species at the pre-harvest (farm) and harvest (abattoir) levels are Campylobacter spp., Salmonella enterica, human pathogenic Escherichia coli, Yersinia enterocolitica, Trichinella spp., Toxoplasma gondii and ESBL-AmpC gene-carrying bacteria. For some hazards, such as Campylobacter spp., T. gondii, or Y. enterocolitica, better integration of on-farm control data and abattoir- level control measures/interventions should be introduced as part of the Meat Safety Assurance System (MSAS). The risk assessment of public health hazards to be covered by veterinary meat inspection was carried out about a decade ago by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) panels that proposed the Harmonized Epidemiological Indicators (HEIs) applied at specific points in the farm-to-abattoir continuum. The regulatory framework has been changed accordingly towards a risk-based approach, bringing all types of inspection services under the umbrella of one regulation to follow the One Agri-Food Health Approach in their work and cooperation.

agri-food chain ; epidemiological indicators ; food safety ; hazards ; risk

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