Listeria monocytogenes occurrence and characterization in meat-producing plants

Posted in: Meat Quality by admin on January 1, 2003 | No Comments

COMPARISON OF ENGINE PERFORMANCE AND EMISSIONS FOR PETROLEUM DIESEL FUEL, YELLOW GREASE BIODIESEL, AND SOYBEAN OIL BIODIESEL

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Lying characteristics as determinants for space requirements in pigs.

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Questions concerning the minimum space requirement for intensively kept pigs in relation to their welfare have been an issue of interest for many decades. Recently, the discussion about these questions has intensified, as there is a growing concern among western societies about the welfare of intensively kept pigs. Most studies on space allowances or requirements have been assessed in experiments where the performance of the pig is predominant measure. This suggests that there is no need to house pigs at an area larger than the area below which production decreases. However, from a welfare perspective this is questionable. This study focused on the lying postures, space occupation and percentage of space-sharing in pigs, in order to develop a theoretical framework on spatial requirements for pigs, e.g. for pen design legislative purposes. Pigs were housed at thermoneutral conditions, on 60% solid and 40% slatted floors, in groups of eight from 25 to 100 kg live weight. Behaviours of the pigs were recorded at approximately 30, 50, 80 and 100 kg live weight, in order to gain an insight into their space use and space requirements. The results showed that pigs of all weight categories lie down for a greater part of the day. Based on the behavioural observations carried out, present study confirmed that the floor area occupied by lying pigs at thermoneutral conditions should on average be based on the estimated floor area for half recumbent pigs (the animal is lying half on the side and half on the belly), i.e. area = 0.033 x body weight0.66 which in turn exceeds the recommended minimum space requirements for commercial practices in EU. The present study however, does of course not answer the questions whether pigs actually need an amount space that goes beyond recommendations generally based on production performance studies. Additional validation experiments, studying the welfare relevancy of those behavioural expressions should be carried out in order to answer this question.

Evaluation of nonfeed removal methods for molting programs.

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Induced molting of laying hens is a widely utilized management technique in the commercial egg industry to extent the productive life of a hen. This experiment was conducted using 336 White Leghorn hens (60 wk of age) randomly assigned to one of four treatments that consisted of feed removal for 4 or 10 days or no feed removal with ad libitum access to 95% wheat middlings molt diets that contained supplemental minerals and vitamins. At the end of the 4 day or 10 day feed removal period, hens on these treatments were provided with the corn molt diet for 24 or 18 days respectively. Hens on the corn or wheat middlings treatments were fed the diets for 28 days. At day 28, hens on all treatments were fed a corn-soybean meal (16% CP) layer diet for 40 wk (64 to 104 wk of age). Both feed removal and the wheat middlings treatments resulted in total cessation of egg production within 8 days. Egg production of hens fed the corn molt diet had decreased to 3% by day 28. Body weight loss for hens fed the corn or wheat middlings diet was approximately 15 and 8% at day 28, respectively. Hens fed the wheat middlings diet returned to production slightly faster than hens on the other treatments. Postmolt egg production and egg mass (wk 5 to 44) were generally higher for the wheat middlings and 10 day feed removal treatments. There were no consistent differences in mortality, egg weight, egg specific gravity, feed efficiency, and layer feed consumption among treatments. This research indicates that diets with high corn or wheat middlings, particularly wheat middlings, are effective nonfeed removal methods for molting hens.

Testing responses to novelty in cattle: behavioural and physiological responses to novel food.

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Novel stimuli can lead to negative emotions such as fear. The welfare of an individual animal depends on its coping capacity with environmental challenges and presentation of novel stimuli have been used to evaluate the welfare or the tendency to display fear reactions in farm animals. In order to develop a behavioural test as well as gain information about behavioural response to novel food, we performed four experiments with cattle kept in tie-stalls and observed the behaviour after provision of novel food. In experiment 1, the effects of the novelty of the feeding method were tested using nine heifers provided with 2 kg of their usual food from the usual fodder truck or from a basket made of plastic. The novel feeding method induced increased sniffing, decreased duration of eating and increased self-grooming. The effects of the degree of novelty of a food were examined in experiment 2 using heifers and three concentrations of fish oil (1.5, 6, or 24 g/kg) and eucalyptus oil (5, 20, 80 drops per kg) added to the usual food. Increasing the concentration of eucalyptus oil in the food led to changes in behaviour, while the addition of fish oil led to a less clear response. However, both suggested that the behaviour reflected the degree of novelty in the food. Behavioural responses to two novel foods (4kg carrots vs. 80 drops per kg of eucalyptus oil added to the usual food) as well as individual characteristics and repeatability within 72 h were examined in experiment 3. the behavioural responses to the novel foods differed, showing a higher level of approach and attempts to eat the carrots, and responses to the two different novel foods were not correlated. At the second provision, the acceptability of the carrots was greater, however responses to carrots showed an acceptable repearability. Finall, the cardiac (heart rate) and behavioural responses to usual food and novel food (4 kg carrots) were compared in experiment 4. Provision of novel food led to behavioural signs of motivational conflict and neophobia while the heart rate ended to be lower than when the cows were provided with usual food. These results provide evidence that behavioural responses to novel food in cattle include signs of motivational conflict between eating motivation and neophobia, reflecting the degree of novelty in the test situation including the feeding method. However, palatability of the food might also affect the responses, and the data on heart rate suggest that novel food is not a fear-inducing stimulus.

Influence of social status on the welfare of sows in static and dynamic groups.

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This study examined the aggression that occurs when sows are regrouped. In this study the sows were grouped twice, first immediately after weaning twelve groups of four sows were mixed. This was classified as a static group, as no new sows were ever added to the group of four. Five weeks later, three static groups were mixed into a dynamic group, which contained approximately 40 sows and remained in this group for eleven weeks. In the dynamic groups, twelve sows were removed and twelve new sows were added at three-week-intervals. Upon mixing into the static pen, aggressive and submissive behaviours were recorded for the first nine hours after mixing. The social status of the sows was subsequently ranked based on their aggressiveness and the outcomes of their aggressive interactions. On the day of mixing and one week later, injuries were recorded and salivary cortisol samples were taken for both static and dynamic groups. Injuries were also recorded prior to the sows being moved into the dynamic pen. Individual sow behaviour, the order in which the sows went through the electronic feeder and where the sow rested within the pen was recorded throughout the study. The levels of sow injuries increased significantly after the sows were moved into the dynamic group from the static group. Sows with lower social status had lower bodyweights and higher levels of injuries one week after being mixed into both the static and dynamic groups. A lower social status also resulted in those sows having a lower position in the feeding ordering and they were unable to rest in the kennel area (prime lying area). Lower ranking sows were displaced from the feeder queue and drinker more often than higher-ranking sows. Social status did not have an effect on salivary cortisol levels. The results indicated that in both static and dynamic groups the welfare of the sows with a lower social rank was impaired.

The effects of air transport on the behaviour and heart rate of horses

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There is little information on the behavioural and physiological experiences of horses during air transport. Long and short haul air transports were compared to determine if there were differences in behaviour and heart rates. Resting heart rates were determined prior to transportation. Body postures and social activities were recorded during the air transport. The behaviour and physiology of 16 horses were recorded during short haul flights (3-4 hours). Loading and unloading the truck and aircraft, and during ascent and descent, resulted in significantly higher heart rates compared to resting values or when in flight. During flight, the horses had close to resting heart rates and also sometimes doze and rest. However, during ascent and descent aggression and submission would increase and postural changes would occur to maintain balance. There were no differences in behavioural and physiological responses in the 19 horses that were studied during long haul flights (10-15 hours). Based on these results, horses seem to adapt well to air transport. The transitional stages appeared to result in increased agitation, but did not occur or last long enough to be considered a welfare concern.

Information Resources on Swine Housing, Care and Welfare

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Best-Cost Production of High Quality Pork: Bridging the Gap Between Pig Genetics, Muscle Biology/Meat Science and Consumer Trends

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The food supply industry is constantly changing. The center of the industry is the consumer and they are concerned about food safety and meat quality. Functional genomics (non-genetic modification – a DNA technology) is one of several techniques the industry is using to improve meat quality.

The increased demand for pork leanness requires enhanced muscular growth within pigs. This occurs in two stages: initially, embryonic myogenesis occurs (the development of muscular cells) and then muscular growth (hypertrophy – the muscles grow bigger). These factors can be improved via genetic selection. The interaction between muscle and environmental stress before slaughter complicates even further the understanding, measurement and control of the major sources of variation in lean quality. The use of quantitative genetics, selection indexes, and estimated breeding values (EBVs) for carcass quality has enabled the pork industry to make progress on tenderness, water holding capacity, etc.

Mining your Data to Make Money

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Data mining is retrieving information from large databases. It can be used to predict trends and find behaviours that can be valuable to improving business. An example of how this can be used in the pig industry is the relationship between age of the pigs and H. parasuis diagnosis, or if culling reasons consistent among herds within a large system? Histograms can be used to show whether a measure is “normally” distributed. If a measurement is to be broken down into categories, pivot charts and tables in Microsoft Excel are useful (PigCHAMP is also capable of information breakdown). A line chart is good for observing something over time and for predicting something into the future. Other useful methods include decision analysis, analysis of variability (“risk analysis”), and optimization routines.