BIOSECURITY MEASURES IN LIVESTOCK PROCESSING UNIT AND HACCP
Dr. Subhash Kumar Verma, Dr. Bimla Verma
Assistant Professor, Dept. of LPT, VCA, Anjora, Durg
Biosecurity is defined as the implementation of measures that reduce the risk of disease agents being introduced and spread. It requires that people adopt a set of attitudes and behaviors to reduce risk in all activities involving domestic, captive/exotic and wild animals and their products. Biosecurity measures should be used to avoid the entry of pathogens into a herd or farm (external biosecurity) and to prevent the spread of disease to uninfected animals within a herd or farm and to other farms, when the pathogen is already present (internal biosecurity). The following are the three main elements of biosecurity: Animal biosecurity involves the protection of animals, livestock products, livestock owners and the community from biological threats. The threats include disease agents and other threats to public health such as residues and contaminants and these threats are increasing due to the effects of globalization. Also new and emerging diseases of animals and humans are predicted to increase and this is due to rapid changes in hosts, agents, production systems and environment and the greater overlap of animals with human populations. Good biosecurity involves all stakeholders in the livestock industries and is needed to minimize the occurrence and prevent the spread of these threats and particularly those that are of concern to public health.
Global standards for safe food and safe trade in animal products are now driven by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement. This specifies that for animal health, animal welfare and pre-harvest aspects of food safety, the OIE will develop standards, guidelines and recommendations. These are standards that underpin good biosecurity by facilitation of safe trade and the assurance of animal health status. They have the potential to remove unnecessary restrictions on trade in animals and their products. These standards are scientifically based and aim to provide practical ways of facilitating safe trade in animals and their products. In addition to standards and guidelines for veterinary services, disease control and protocols to be used by trading partners they also provide guidance for risk assessment.
1) Segregation The creation and maintenance of barriers to limit the potential opportunities for infected animals and contaminated materials to enter an uninfected site. When properly applied, this step will prevent most contamination and infection.
2) Cleaning Materials (e.g., vehicles, equipment) that have to enter (or leave) a site must be thoroughly cleaned to remove visible dirt. This will also remove most of the pathogens that contaminate the materials.
3) Disinfection When properly applied, disinfection will inactivate any pathogen that is present on materials that have already been thoroughly cleaned.
Within each of these three elements, the measures taken to improve biosecurity depend on the livestock production system concerned and the local geographic and socio-economic conditions. Segregation measures include controlling the entry of livestock from outside farms, markets or villages; implementing quarantine for newly purchased animals; limiting the number of sources of replacement stocks; fencing a farm area and controlling access for people, as well as birds, bats, rodents, cats and dogs; maintaining adequate distances between farms; providing footwear and clothing to be worn only on the farm; and using an all-in-all-out management system. Cleaning and disinfection measures may involve the use of high-pressure and low-pressure washers, and will be implemented on not only buildings on the premises, but also vehicles, equipment, clothing and footwear. The willingness to implement measures depends greatly on the investment capacity and social and economic status of the producers and other stakeholders. For meaningful change to take place in rural communities, those involved must have a clear understanding of the economic importance of pig production for their owners’ livelihoods and the resource base that enables appropriate sustainable biosecurity measures to be developed; this depends on having a well-designed communication plan.
Good practices
The implementation of biosecurity measures in scavenging livestock production systems is constrained by the producers’ limited capacity to invest resources and time, and by the nature of scavenging livestock production. However, there are simple measures that can be recommended and that are mainly related to segregation: new livestock introduced into a village.
The AI unit should match that of the recipient herd, and its biosecurity protocols should be adequate. The control of visitors and fomites is a major focus, as both can bring pathogens to the farm. Training and updating of staff by veterinarians and technicians specialized in disease control is necessary. A number of disease control measures and techniques are now available to control relevant pathogens in commercial farms. The biggest challenge is often to ensure proper implementation of good husbandry practices. Progressive eradication of pathogens contributes to regional biosecurity by lowering the regional disease risk. Followed to its logical conclusion, this process can result in eradication of disease from the region or country. Biosecurity for large-scale outdoor production systems needs to focus on the control of feedstuffs, water and pasture contamination, wildlife and human visitors. Other factors such as transportation, fomites and sources of breeding stock also need to be considered, as the risks are the same as in the other production systems. Intermediaries, service providers and transporters are the key links along pig production and marketing chains. Their potential roles in disease transmission but also as champions for biosecurity – is important; they must therefore be fully involved in the implementation of biosecurity programmes. Slaughterhouses are another important element in the marketing chain where all three elements of biosecurity must be implemented, with a major focus on bio-containment. To maintain a high health status at AI centers, it is essential that the boars purchased are of verified disease-free status. The implementation of a quality assurance scheme in these enterprises should be a priority. Live-animal markets are obvious mixing points and a potential source of disease spread: bio-containment is crucial at these sites, and contact among animals of different origins must be controlled. To limit the risk of disease spread, animals that have not been sold should not be reintroduced back into the home herd without a quarantine period. Wastewater and slurries need to be managed properly. However, such markets are also a useful location for disseminating and collecting information.
Biosecurity is the application of protections and practices against infectious biologic agents that endanger the food supply. These protections and practices exist at many points in the poultry handling process and limit the endanger spread of disease causing organisms. When teamed with disinfection and sanitation procedures, biosecurity practices can eradicate or reduce pathogens to non-infectious levels. Serologic monitoring and vaccinations also insure flock health. Inadequate biosecurity can contribute to industry wide epidemics of highly pathogenic or exotic disease, resulting in quarantine and possible condemnation of flocks. An infection by a non-virulent organism within a facility result can be just as devastating economically, reducing production over the life of the facility without overt signs of disease. Once contaminated with pathogens, poultry facilities are extremely difficult and expensive to clean, sanitize and disinfect. A further consideration related to biosecurity at all levels is the potential for terrorists to introduce pathogens into livestock and the food chain. This could cause significant direct and indirect economic loss.
SOURCES OF DISEASE
Source contamination: Animals feed or water that carry a biological agent and transmit it. People, clothing or vehicles can harbor a biological agent that when moved around can spread the agent.
Vector contamination: Efforts to minimize vectors can significantly reduce disease transmission. Rodents, wild birds, insects, fomites (such as fecal material, feathers and dust) can be wind or water transmitted etc.
Facility Contamination: A major source of disease transmission is people (employees, service personnel, truck drivers, vaccination crews). Facilities may also be contaminated by new flocks (chicks, pullets, breeding males, semen, etc.)
Intentional contamination: A bioterrorist event that is intended to inflict harm in multiple ways. Motives could include market destabilization, economic loss, disruption of trade and imposition of embargoes and social in- stability through loss of confidence in the food supply.
Conclusion
Livestock are susceptible to a wide range of diseases that affect productivity and, de facto, the producer’s income whether he/she is a large-scale commercial producer or has only one scavenging pig. The 2009 influenza pandemic, caused by a new strain of swine-origin H1N1, was a timely reminder of the risks for human health related to livestock production – the same livestock, including pigs, that supports the livelihoods and food security of almost a billion people, most of whom are poor. Among the solutions required to minimize the risk of disease spread, the strengthening of biosecurity is a priority. It does not reduce the need for appropriate preparedness plans and adequate resources to control disease outbreaks once they occur, but it is proactive, has a preventive impact and enables producers to protect their assets. A thorough knowledge of pig disease epidemiology and the routes of disease transmission has enabled authorities and producers to develop adequate biosecurity measures for the pig sector. Some of these measures are applicable across all production systems. New and emerging diseases and other biosecurity threats can have significant effects on animal production, human health and trade and the local, regional and global economies.
HACCP
The Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system is a scientific approach to process control. It is designed to prevent the occurrence of problems by assuring that controls are applied at any point in a food production system where hazardous or critical
situations could occur. Hazards include biological, chemical, or physical contamination of food products. HACCP is a systematic and preventive approach to achieve food safety standards. Originally developed in the United States to guarantee the safety of astronauts’ food in space, HACCP is now being adopted worldwide as a scientific, straight forward and effective approach to enhance food safety. The HACCP approach can be used by all segments of the food production continuum and can be tailored to any individual product or process line. The advantage of using the HACCP system lies in the control it provides at all times over food safety in the processing plant, from receiving raw materials to shipping the final products. For the food processor, producing a safe product will be structured around critical control points (CCPs). CCPs are designed to control potential hazards that are biological, chemical or physical in nature and that may pose a food safety risk. The HACCP approach is based on seven principles aimed at identifying hazards in food production, controlling hazards at critical control points in the process, and verifying that the system is working properly. The key element of the HACCP system is its preventive nature meaning that potential food safety hazards are controlled throughout the process. The application of HACCP principles in the production of food is recommended by Codex Alimentarius, the international standard-setting organization for food.
