Food Safety
Alternative Curing
Publish Date: July 8, 2014
Curing impacts meat product attributes, resulting in unique product characteristics, when compared to fresh meat products. Traditionally, meat curing has been associated with processed meats for the purpose of altering color, flavor, safety, and shelf-life characteristics (Sebranek & Fox, 1985).
Read More Download PDF
Needle Free Injection Systems
Publish Date: April 23, 2012
Needle-free injection techniques can be used to administer vaccines and medications in the pork industry. Needle-free injection offers a fast, effective route of administration. There are hazards that must be addressed to safeguard employees who utilize needle-free injection systems; therefore, an enforced education program is crucial to the success of using needle-free injection in any pork operation.
Read More Download PDF
Campylobacter in the Pork Food Chain
Publish Date: September 24, 2007
Campylobacteriosis is a serious foodborne disease in which pork could be implicated. Campylobacter bacteria have been found in the intestinal tract of domestic and wild mammals, poultry, wild birds, and in untreated water and unpasteurized milk. Infection in piglets can occur as early as the first 24 hours after birth. The likely route of transmission is from the sow to the newborn; however, the exact routes by which food animals become infected have not been clearly defined. The predominant species of Campylobacter in pigs is C. coli, whereas the predominant species in poultry and cattle is C. jejuni. Most human infections in the U.S. are associated with C. jejuni, whereas in Europe, high incidence of human infection with C. coli is also reported. With the exception of abortion in sheep, food animals that are colonized with Campylobacter usually dont have any clinical signs. A high percentage of animals at slaughter are infected and this is also an important phase in the farm-to-table continuum where Campylobacter usually enters the food chain. Human foodborne Campylobacter infection most commonly comes from consuming food that is contaminated or cross-contaminated (i.e. uncontaminated foods that came in contact with contaminated sources) at the post-harvest level. Campylobacter can be routinely isolated from retail meat products with the highest frequency found in poultry. Most control methods center on the prevention of contamination and cross-contamination along the food chain. Campylobacter does not grow well in food. In that respect, it is different from Salmonella or Staphylococcus which can multiply in poorly stored food.
Read More Download PDF
Toxoplasma
Publish Date: June 3, 2006
Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan (single-celled) parasite found in muscle and other tissues of many warm-blooded animals including pigs and people. Cats and other felids are the only hosts in which the parasite can complete its entire life cycle (Figure 1), and the only animals that excrete the environmentally resistant and infectious stage called the oocyst (eggs) in the feces. Infection occurs when pigs, and other animals, accidentally ingest oocysts in soil or water or eat tissues of rodents, wildlife, or meat containing cysts. Ingested oocysts or tissue cysts enter the intestine and release sporozoites or bradyzoites, respectively. These stages penetrate intestinal epithelial cells and transform into rapidly dividing tachyzoites. Tachyzoites are dispersed throughout the body by the circulatory and lymphatic systems, eventually entering and encysting as bradyzoites (tissue cysts) in skeletal muscle and other organs of the body (brain, heart, liver). These cysts remain alive in the body for the lifetime of the animal, and are infective when eaten by other hosts, such as humans. Once tissue cysts have formed, most animals are resistant to a second infection. In the cat, a series of asexual stages in the intestine is followed by sexual reproduction of the parasite with the development of gamonts, fertilization, formation of zygotes, and the production of oocysts that are passed in the feces. Cats may shed more than 10 million oocysts per day for 3-10 days after infection. Oocysts must mature (sporulate) in the environment for 1-5 days to become infective for a new host. Transplacental transmission of infection can occur in some hosts, including humans, who become infected during pregnancy.
Read More Download PDF