Thanks to the Finnish national control programme and its risk management measures, the prevalence of salmonella in Finnish farmed animals and foodstuffs has remained within the targets set by the control programme. The exposure of Finnish consumers to salmonella through meat has also been estimated to be low, thanks to the control programme and its associated risk management measures, such as special guarantees for meat imported into Finland.
Salmonella is one of the main causes of food poisoning in the EU, costing up to €3 billion per year. Pigs are considered one of the main sources of human salmonellosis in the EU. EU legislation does not require salmonella to be present, but Member States are required to monitor the prevalence of salmonella and to test for salmonella in carcasses of pigs, among other things.
The costs of salmonella control on Finnish pig farms have increased, but there has been no comprehensive study on the benefits and cost-effectiveness of a pig salmonella control programme. If the swine salmonella control programme were to be abandoned, pork entering Finland would no longer be required to be salmonella-free. This could lead to an increase in internal trade and imports of pig meat from outside the EU. Pork imported from countries with higher salmonella prevalence could also expose consumers to salmonella more frequently. In addition, the prevalence of salmonella could also increase in the domestic pork production chain and increase consumer exposure.
The project will investigate the public health and economic impact of a national salmonella control programme for pigs. The study will assess the current situation in the light of available information and scenarios for discontinuation of the control programme or an alternative programme.
Schedule:
2023-2024
Project team:
Food Authority Risk Assessment Unit:
Pirkko Tuominen (researcher in charge)
Suvi Joutsen
Antti Mikkelä
Sara Nevalainen
Petra Pasonen
Jukka Ranta
Leena Seppä-Lassila
Funding:
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Project publications:
Nevalainen S, Joutsen S, Pasonen P, Mikkelä A, Seppä-Lassila L, Ranta J & Tuominen P (2024) Sikojen kansallisen salmonellavalvontaohjelman merkitys. Ruokaviraston tutkimuksia 4/2024. http://hdl.handle.net/10138/584845