Finland’s pig Salmonella control program helps to protect consumers but there is room for improvement, according to an assessment. Ruokavirasto (The Finnish Food Authority) evaluated the public health and cost effects of the national Salmonella control program for pigs. Salmonella in domestic pork was estimated to cause occasional cases of salmonellosis annually.
If Salmonella-infected pigs were not removed from the production chain, it is predicted that the number of illnesses would increase four-fold. The analysis found that over time, the prevalence of the pathogen in pigs would also go up. If the prevalence of Salmonella in the production chain was similar to the EU average, 40 to 100 people would fall ill in Finland annually.
If the spread of Salmonella in the supply chain was not prevented at all and the pathogen was present in 20 percent of the establishments, there would be 400 cases every year. Assessing impact of different options Special guarantees would cease if the current control program was abandoned, resulting in an increase in the annual number of illnesses linked to imported pork from 50 to 150 cases. Pork exported from Finland would also be subject to more requirements than is currently the case.
Based on the control program, the European Commission has granted Finland special status, so meat of foreign origin, which is sold fresh, must be certified Salmonella-free before it arrives in the country. Since 1995, the national pig Salmonella control program h.