U.S. pork producers have long recognized the importance of producing a product in which their domestic and international consumers could have the highest confidence. Consumer assurance of the safety of pork is vital to continued demand for pork. Effectively addressing food safety issues requires a partnership among all of the participants. As the first link in the food chain, pork producers recognize that their actions and production practices have the potential to influence pathogen levels along the rest of the chain. We also recognize that progress made in the area of preharvest food safety can be negated by improper or careless handling in subsequent links of the pork chain. Without question, efforts in the area of food safety need to be well coordinated and should build on previous links in the chain.

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) has formed a Pork Safety Task Force with the mission of assuring the safety of U.S. pork through coordinated, science-based efforts throughout the pork chain. The long-term goals of this task force are to decrease the potential for foodborne illness from pork products and improve product image with regard to safety among consumers worldwide.

We believe preharvest food safety programs first evolve from healthy animals. Producers and their herd veterinarians should view food safety as an integral part of their total herd health programs. Much progress has been made in the industry in the prevention of potential animal health problems by implementation of biosecurity procedures and herd health management programs. New technology such as all-in, all-out production, repopulation of herds and age-segregated rearing are becoming the industry norm.

Our Pork Quality Assurance (PQA) Program developed in 1989 has evolved from a residue avoidance program to helping producers adopt these technologies in their herd health programs. We have already implemented Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles to the production end of the pork chain with respect to prevention of residues through our Pork Quality Assurance Program.

The PQA Program is a three-level management education program designed to address pork producers’ responsibilities in the production of a safe, wholesome product. The program emphasizes good management practices in the handling and use of animal health products and encourages producers to annually review their herds’ health programs. Many participants in the pork chain have cooperated in program implementation including packers, veterinarians, feed suppliers, pharmaceutical companies, and government agencies, such as the Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Food and Drug Administration.

Level I of the Pork Quality Assurance Program provides a foundation for an on-farm residue avoidance program. Emphasis is on the proper handling and administration of animal health products to maintain public trust. Topics discussed include food safety, products used today, routes of administration, on-farm feed preparation, withdrawal times, the current regulatory system and on-farm residue testing. Level II is a "self-review" of Level I information.

Level III is the final verification stage that takes a producer step-by-step through the design of a herd health program by focusing on Ten Critical Control Points for Quality Assured Pork Production. Level III provides an ideal vehicle to implement HACCP principles to the production end of the pork chain. To complete Level III, a producer needs to review the Level III booklet with a verifier. The NPPC Pork Quality Assurance Committee has designated veterinarians, Extension personnel and agricultural education instructors to serve as verifiers. After this review, the verifier signs the verification form located in the Level III manual and mails it to NPPC. The producer then receives a certificate of program completion. To maintain program integrity, producers are required to recertify annually. Yearly recertification offers the opportunity to continue to update producers as new technology becomes available and governmental regulations change.

Additional research is needed to learn more about the ecology and epidemiology of microorganisms of public health significance before it can be determined where in the food chain is most appropriate for intervention. Much research in the on-farm ecology and epidemiology of potential human pathogens is needed. The Live Animal Subcommittee Report for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Pathogen Reduction Task Force provides a very detailed listing of the research areas and researchable questions that need to be addressed. In addition, the Food Safety and Inspection Service in November, 1994, published a comprehensive document, Food Safety Research: Current Activities and Future Needs. It includes very specific research that is needed before on-farm food safety systems can be designed and implemented.

HACCP systems for the preharvest prevention or reduction of swine carriers of potential human pathogens have not been developed and tested. It is not yet known how successful HACCP systems will be with regard to specific organisms. This is a large undertaking as the pork industry has several diverse types of production systems in different geographic areas that may influence the potential for success in pathogen reduction. It would appear that animal management systems which minimize animal pathogens would also reduce bacteria of human concern, but this is not known.

The Pork Safety Task Force has identified the development and testing of HACCP models for preharvest reduction of potentially harmful microorganisms as an important area for research. In 1994, NPPC funded preharvest food safety projects in the following areas:

·Identification and estimation of the potential impact of microbiological and parasitic on-farm hazards that can pose risks to public health.

·Identification of critical control points to prevent, eliminate, control or reduce on-farm hazards under various pig management systems.

·Effect of feed withdrawal prior to slaughter on fecal contamination of swine carcasses.

·Identification of the relationship between the prevalence of potential pathogens in swine herds and the prevalence of these pathogens on swine carcasses.

In 1995, NPPC will continue funding preharvest food safety projects in the same areas with the added focus of looking at costs of on-farm HACCP programs and the prevalence of potential pathogens in swine after transport.

The Pork Quality Assurance Program will be the delivery system for preharvest food safety recommendations to producers as information is available on what producers can do on-farm to enhance the safety of pork.

Private veterinarians will always be on the front lines of where technology transfer to producers occurs on a daily basis. Producers look to their herd veterinarian to help determine how a production practice or new technology will work in their operation. The private practitioner will continue to have the on-farm interaction that is critical to the success of any preharvest food safety program. This relationship has been enhanced by the development and implementation of the Pork Quality Assurance Program.

A critical concern of producers is what we do in the interim while research is being done, educational information is being developed, improvements are being instituted, yet organisms are traced back to a farm. Clearly, producers need to have feasible control or prevention programs available to them before punitive actions are taken. This is the tough question for all of us. What do we do when we still have more questions than answers?

Pork producers recognize we are the first link in the food chain and we are committed to doing our part to achieve mutual public health goals. We support efforts to look at the production end of the food chain. These efforts must be practical, economically sound, science-based and produce a real, measurable difference.