The Pew Charitable Trusts, 901 East Street N.W., Washington, DC 20004, USA.
J Food Prot. 2020 Nov 1;83(11):1918-1928. doi: 10.4315/JFP-20-157.
Consumption of contaminated meat and poultry products is a major source of foodborne illness in the United States and globally. Meat inspection procedures, established more than 100 years ago to detect prevailing food safety issues of the time and largely harmonized around the world, do not effectively detect modern hazards and may inadvertently increase food safety risks by spreading contamination across carcasses. Visual-only inspection (VOI) is a significantly different, modernized meat inspection system that is data driven and minimizes physical manipulation of the carcass during inspection. It was developed based on scientific evidence and risk assessment and aims to better control current food safety hazards. In 2014, the European Union (EU) became the first supranational government in the world to require VOI for all swine herds slaughtered in member states that met certain epidemiologic and animal rearing conditions. Here, we review the implementation of this new inspection system with the goal of informing similar modernization efforts in other countries and for other commodities beyond pork. This article reports the results of a literature review and interviews conducted with nine experts in 2018 on the implementation of the EU's 2014 VOI regulation. Challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned about the implementation of the regulation are described for audiences interested in adapting inspection procedures to prevent and detect modern food safety hazards. Overall, implementation of VOI varies within and across member states, and among slaughterhouses of different sizes. This variation is due to disease risk patterns, supply chain conditions, and trade barriers. Before transitioning to a similar risk-based meat inspection system, other countries should consider the following: science-based research agendas to identify what food chain information best predicts herd health and foodborne hazards, regulatory system design that accurately reflects local hazards, and development of targeted VOI educational materials.
食用受污染的肉禽产品是美国和全球食源性疾病的主要来源。100 多年前建立的肉类检验程序旨在发现当时普遍存在的食品安全问题，在全球范围内基本实现了统一，但无法有效检测现代危害，并且在对胴体进行检验时，可能会无意中通过传播污染而增加食品安全风险。目视检查（VOI）是一种截然不同的现代化肉类检验系统，它基于数据驱动，并最大限度地减少在检验过程中对胴体的物理操作。它是基于科学证据和风险评估开发的，旨在更好地控制当前的食品安全危害。2014 年，欧盟（EU）成为世界上第一个要求成员国对符合某些流行病学和动物饲养条件的所有屠宰猪群实施 VOI 的超国家政府。在这里，我们回顾了这一新检验系统的实施情况，以期为其他国家和猪肉以外的其他商品提供类似的现代化努力提供信息。本文报告了 2018 年对九位专家进行的文献回顾和访谈的结果，这些专家对欧盟 2014 年 VOI 法规的实施情况进行了评估。为了适应检验程序以预防和检测现代食品安全危害，本报告描述了实施该法规的挑战、机遇和经验教训。总的来说，VOI 的实施在成员国内部和之间以及不同规模的屠宰场之间存在差异。这种差异是由于疾病风险模式、供应链条件和贸易壁垒造成的。在向类似的基于风险的肉类检验系统过渡之前，其他国家应考虑以下因素：以科学为基础的研究议程，以确定哪些食物链信息最能预测畜群健康和食源性危害；准确反映当地危害的监管系统设计；以及制定有针对性的 VOI 教育材料。
