Hygiene performance rating at farm level - an auditing scheme for evaluation of biosecurity measures' effect on prevalence of Campylobacter from selected broiler producers.

Background: Preventing pathogens from entering the broiler premises is the main biosecurity measure at farm level. In conventional broiler production, chickens are kept indoors during the entire production period. Pathogens can enter the broiler-producing unit from sources such as water, equipment, personnel, insects, and rodents.

Bioimpedance as an alternative tool for subjective, visual scoring of a prevalent ham quality defect.

The detection of meat quality defects can involve both subjective and objective methods. PSE-like meat is linked to a common pork defect and can be caused by rapid post-mortem damage of muscle fibers. This damage can again be linked to various factors, such as a low ultimate pH or a higher slaughter weight.

Bioimpedance-based Authentication of Defrosted Versus Fresh Pork at the End of Refrigerated Shelf Life.

Correct food labeling is a legal requirement and helps consumers to make informed purchasing choices. Mislabeling defrosted meat as fresh is illegal in the EU. However, there are no standardized technologies to authenticate fresh versus defrosted meat.

Meat safety legislation and its opportunities and hurdles for innovative approaches: A review.

Albert Einstein has been quoted "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them". Innovations are necessary to meet future challenges regarding sustainability, animal welfare, slaughter hygiene, meat safety and quality, not at least for optimal balance between these dimensions. The red meat safety legislation texts from Europe, New Zealand, USA, and global guidelines, were analysed for normative formulations ("how it is or should be done") that may create non-intentional hurdles to innovation and new technology.

A European survey on post-mortem inspection of finishing pigs: Total condemnation criteria to declare meat unfit for human consumption.

Meat inspection (MI) is essential to verify compliance with legal requirements related to human and animal health and animal welfare protections. Judgement criteria applied during MI, resulting in condemnation data of importance, among other things, for livestock producers and for benchmarking reasons. However, although the Meat Inspection Regulation sets out judgement criteria, most are generic, favouring flexibility, but also subjectivity.

Intact gastro-intestinal tract removal from pig carcasses in a novel Meat Factory Cell approach.

Conventional automated slaughter lines for pigs are organised as disassembly lines with many specialised machines. High costs and capacities make them relevant only for large scale meat production. The ambition with the novel Meat Factory Cell (MFC) concept is to provide the meat industry with a robust and flexible automation platform that is also relevant for smaller scale production.

Assessing the clinical and bacteriological outcomes of vaccination with recombinant Asp14 and OmpA against A. phagocytophilum in sheep.

Anaplasma phagocytophilum is a tick borne bacterium, causing disease in sheep and other mammals, including humans. The bacterium has great economic and animal welfare implications for sheep husbandry in Northern Europe. With the prospect of a warmer and more humid climate, the vector availability will likely increase, resulting in a higher prevalence of A.

A Systematic Review of Bacterial Foodborne Outbreaks Related to Red Meat and Meat Products.

Our investigation focused on foodborne outbreaks related to meat and meat products, published in peer-reviewed journals in the period 1980-2015. Most of the outbreaks, investigated in this study, were caused by Escherichia coli and Salmonella, causing 33 and 21 outbreaks, respectively, mostly in Europe and the United States. In the E.

Problem behaviors in adult laying hens - identifying risk factors during rearing and egg production.

Feather pecking, toe pecking, cannibalism, smothering, social clumping, hens laying eggs outside the nest boxes, and reduced feather quality are examples of problem behaviors and consequences reported by egg producers. The aim of this study was to identify rearing- and production-related risk factors associated with producer-reported problem behaviors in Norwegian layer flocks. Questionnaires were distributed to 410 egg producers nationwide, and 120 producers responded to the survey (response rate 29%).

Comparison of flock characteristics, journey duration and pathology between flocks with a normal and a high percentage of broilers 'dead-on-arrival' at abattoirs.

This study investigated high mortality in broilers transported to slaughter in Norway by comparing data from flocks with normal and high mortality during transportation. The data sources consisted of necropsy findings in 535 broilers dead-on-arrival (DOA), production data and slaughterhouse data, along with average journey duration for the 61 associated flocks. The mean Norwegian DOA% for 2015 was 0.

Microbiota formed on attached stainless steel coupons correlates with the natural biofilm of the sink surface in domestic kitchens.

Stainless steel coupons are frequently used in biofilm studies in the laboratory, as this material is commonly used in the food industry. The coupons are attached to different surfaces to create a "natural" biofilm to be studied further in laboratory trials. However, little has been done to investigate how well the microbiota on such coupons represents the surrounding environment.

Microbiological, physicochemical and sensory parameters of dry fermented sausages manufactured with high hydrostatic pressure processed raw meat.

The aim of this trial was to describe physicochemical, microbiological and organoleptic characteristics of dry fermented sausages produced from high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) pre-processed trimmings. During ripening of the meat products pH, weight, water activity (aw), and several microbiological parameters were measured at zero, eight, fifteen days and after 6weeks. Sensory characteristics were estimated at day 15 and after six weeks by a test panel by using several sensory tests.

The effects of different hygiene procedures in reducing bacterial contamination in a model domestic kitchen.

Aims: Few studies have compared the effectiveness of hygienic cleaning under simulated use conditions. This study compares commonly used and novel cleaning methods for food contact and hand contact surfaces in kitchens.

Methods And Results: We report results from two surveys on Norwegian consumers' cleaning procedures.

Application of high pressure processing to reduce verotoxigenic E. coli in two types of dry-fermented sausage.

The effect of high pressure processing (HPP) on the survival of verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) in two types of Norwegian type dry-fermented sausages was studied. Two different types of recipes for each sausage type were produced. The sausage batter was inoculated with 6.