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Solutions that can help protect the food supply chain

Food safety is an important consideration for consumers, and food derived from animals (meat and meat products) presents unique safety challenges. In particular, there are diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans (zoonotic diseases), which place an increased responsibility on producers, manufacturers, and food retailers to ensure adequate food safety throughout the entire supply chain.

This integrated approach begins with animal production, which must take into account possible hazards that can expose animals to pathogens, or facilitate pathogen growth.

Prevention of exposure to contaminants extends through transport, processing, and the retail market, and each link in the chain must do its part to reduce consumer risk.

Preharvest testing and its relationship to food safety

Unlike traditional inspection methods that determine the safety of individual animals, food safety testing under a risk-based approach provides for continuous improvement in the supply chain, through herd and supplier monitoring and feedback.

For example, when pigs are delivered to the slaughterhouse, a defined number of pigs are sampled and analyzed using a panel of diagnostic tests for microbial and zoonotic infections. The diagnostic results are linked to additional information about the particular herd and farm, and specific actions can be taken based on this combined knowledge.

Depending on the results of monitoring, measures can be implemented in the animal production phase to increase biosecurity and improve hygiene. Decisions can also be made regarding the suitability of individual suppliers. In extreme cases, suppliers may lose market access when testing demonstrates unacceptable results.

With a continuous feedback loop across the supply chain, the quality of the pigs should increase and the burden of potential zoonotic hazards should decrease. This not only helps provide protection to the packer, but consequently helps to increase safety throughout the entire food chain.

1. Farm
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2.Slaughterhouse
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3. Table
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Comprehensive testing solutions that help ensure pork safety

We offer a variety of tests to help determine the health and safety status of live animals, pork, and pork products relative to microbial pathogens. The PrioCHECK® testing system covers many of the important pathogens associated with pork and pork products. These tests are rapid, simple to run, inexpensive, and highly reliable. They can also be integrated, so that multiple sampling is not necessary and common equipment can be used.

Testing can provide value from three perspectives:

  1. Testing can be integrated to meet program requirements such as microbial hazard testing, including mandatory HACCP and various voluntary certification programs.

  2. Testing can be used to monitor the quality of producers in the supply chain, and assist packers in selecting suppliers that exceed industry standards for safety relative to selected microbes.

  3. Testing can be used as a market advantage by offering additional assurances of product safety to buyers. Product profiles from microbial testing by an individual packer can be compared with industry-wide benchmarks to show enhanced safety.

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An experienced and established partner
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We work closely with our customers to develop and implement diagnostic test solutions that address the unique needs of our customers and changing regulatory requirements. Our comprehensive portfolio of diagnostic tests provides a wide range of ELISA assays for risk-based food safety testing, which currently includes the following solutions:

  •   PrioCHECK® Salmonella Ab porcine—A highly sensitive, rapid, and economical test for large-scale screening of Salmonella infections in pigs, including the B, C1, and D serogroups, which are most common in Europe, Asia, and America. View product flyer ›

  •   PrioCHECK® Trichinella Ab—A highly sensitive, specific, and rapid ELISA test for the detection of antibodies against Trichinella in serum and meat juice samples of pigs. View product flyer ›

  •   PrioCHECK® Toxoplasma Ab porcine—A fast, easy-to-use diagnostic test for the detection of Toxoplasma gondii in porcine serum, plasma, and meat juice samples. It allows reliable and cost-effective management of Toxoplasma infections in pig herds. View product flyer ›

  •   PrioCHECK® HEV Ab porcine—The only commercially available ELISA test based on HEV genotype 1 and 3 antigens, providing a highly sensitive, specific, and rapid diagnostic test for the monitoring of Hepatitis E virus in pig herds. View product flyer ›

  •   PrioCHECK® M. avium Ab porcine—This diagnostic test for Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium (MAA) infections on herd level offers greater sensitivity, convenience, and cost savings than pathological exams performed at slaughterhouses. And because the test is not susceptible to lesion-related false positives, it also enables a greater degree of specificity. View product flyer ›

For Veterinary Use Only. For In Vitro Use Only. Regulatory requirements vary by country; products may not be available in your geographic area.