A Veterinary Pathologist with the Western College of Veterinary Medicine says the move to boutique style free range livestock production compromises the superior level of food safety that has been achieved as a result of modern livestock housing.
Zoonotic Diseases were discussed this week as part of Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium 2017 in Saskatoon.
Dr. Susan Detmer, a Veterinary Pathologist with the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, says there’s a number of diseases that we see at higher rates in under developed and low income countries.
One example of that is the tapeworm, Taenia solium. That parasite is from pigs and they get it from under-cooked meat or raw meat. We don’t see that here because our pigs are indoors, we keep them on either slatted floors or cement floors. We have rodent control systems so that our animals are not getting contact with wild animals or rodents. A lot of our modern production practices that we use in North America actually have eliminated a number of the disease risks that you can see in under developed countries.
The reason why we do things the way we do is to reduce disease and it’s to protect the consumer because the consumer wants a wholesome and safe product in the end. When you remove some of those barriers such as putting a pig out on the soil where they can get in contact with feral pig which is carrying diseases that we’ve eliminated from our herd, that risk increases. A pig that was raised outdoors and free range, you’re going to want to make sure that that animal is slaughtered properly and that you’re handling the meat and cooking it properly.
~ Dr. Susan Detmer, Western College of Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Detmer says, because of the modernization of the pork industry it’s very rare to encounter parasites in pork in North America.
