Vial Flavie, Schärrer Sara, Reist Martin
Veterinary Public Health Institute, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Liebefeld, Switzerland.
Veterinary Public Health Institute, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Liebefeld, Switzerland; Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office, Liebefeld, Switzerland.
PLoS One. 2015 Apr 22;10(4):e0122717. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0122717. eCollection 2015.
We used meat-inspection data collected over a period of three years in Switzerland to evaluate slaughterhouse-level, farm-level and animal-level factors that may be associated with whole carcass condemnation (WCC) in cattle after slaughter. The objective of this study was to identify WCC risk factors so they can be communicated to, and managed by, the slaughter industry and veterinary services. During meat inspection, there were three main important predictors of the risk of WCC; the slaughtered animal's sex, age, and the size of the slaughterhouse it was processed in. WCC for injuries and significant weight loss (visible welfare indicators) were almost exclusive to smaller slaughterhouses. Cattle exhibiting clinical syndromes that were not externally visible (e.g. pneumonia lesions) and that are associated with fattening of cattle, end up in larger slaughterhouses. For this reason, it is important for animal health surveillance to collect data from both types of slaughterhouses. Other important risk factors for WCC were on-farm mortality rate and the number of cattle on the farm of origin. This study highlights the fact that the many risk factors for WCC are as complex as the production system itself, with risk factors interacting with one another in ways which are sometimes difficult to interpret biologically. Risk-based surveillance aimed at farms with reoccurring health problems (e.g. a history of above average condemnation rates) may be more appropriate than the selection, of higher-risk animals arriving at slaughter. In Switzerland, the introduction of a benchmarking system that would provide feedback to the farmer with information on condemnation reasons, and his/her performance compared to the national/regional average could be a first step towards improving herd-management and financial returns for producers.
我们利用在瑞士三年内收集的肉类检验数据，评估屠宰场层面、农场层面和动物层面可能与牛屠宰后整胴体被判不合格（WCC）相关的因素。本研究的目的是识别WCC风险因素，以便将其传达给屠宰行业和兽医服务部门并进行管理。在肉类检验过程中，WCC风险有三个主要重要预测因素；被屠宰动物的性别、年龄以及其所在屠宰场的规模。因受伤和显著体重减轻导致的WCC（可见的福利指标）几乎只出现在较小的屠宰场。表现出外部不可见临床综合征（如肺炎病变）且与牛育肥相关的牛，最终会进入较大的屠宰场。因此，动物健康监测从这两类屠宰场收集数据很重要。WCC的其他重要风险因素是农场死亡率和原产农场的牛数量。本研究强调了这样一个事实，即WCC的许多风险因素与生产系统本身一样复杂，风险因素之间以有时难以从生物学角度解释的方式相互作用。针对存在反复出现健康问题的农场（如谴责率高于平均水平的历史记录）进行基于风险的监测，可能比挑选到达屠宰场的高风险动物更为合适。在瑞士，引入一个基准系统，向农民提供有关谴责原因的反馈以及与国家/地区平均水平相比其表现的信息，可能是朝着改善畜群管理和提高生产者财务回报迈出的第一步。
