| |
AASP 
ACTIVITIES
Levels I-III of the PQA program have
been underway for a number of years -- so many, in fact, that
we may have forgotten the questions surrounding the program as
it started. It's been an unqualified success, but it did not start
without concerns and detractors. Now, when PQA level IV, food
safety, is beginning to take shape, we have the opportunity to
reect and ask the same questions about the focus of this new level
as we did for the initial program: Why should we bother? Won't
it take a lot of time? What is the value to me, the producer,
anyway?
Food safety principles can be recognized in the current PQA
levels, for instance, proper use of antibiotics. Correct use of
medication is linked to productivity in a straightforward manner.
Overdosing may waste medication, increasing production cost, and
may even cause toxicity in some cases. Pigs that are underdosed
may remain ill, reducing performance, again lowering prots.
At first glance, other areas of food safety improvement at
the farm may seem less connected to protability and production,
but consider this example. Salmonella in pigs is affected by sanitation,
rodent control and transportation. Poor sanitation practices may
allow the organism to carry over from one group of pigs to another.
This increases the risk of clinical disease and the potential
for pigs to carry the zoonotic organism into the packing plant.
By improving performance on the farm, improving food safety can
be profitable for the producer immediately!
Lastly, and perhaps most critically, PQA IV is being driven
by consumers and competitors. Food safety assurance will become
essential to compete for high profit markets for our pork. The
Danish Salmonella reduction program has succeeded in lowering
the incidence of Salmonella in pigs at harvest to less than 3%.
This gives them an edge in competitive export markets. However,
producers in Denmark also have a powerful financial incentive
to improve: limited access to markets, and price penalties of
up to 9% gross sales, can be imposed on high Salmonella farms.
They take food safety very seriously! Obviously, PQA Level IV
will not impose that type of burden. However, the loss of important
domestic and export markets is a reality today when food safety
and brand identity is at risk.
PQA Level IV will provide veterinarians and producers with
a new opportunity to improve herd performance and the quality
of their products. As the details of the program come into view,
the NPPC needs your feedback and support. Keep the PQA program
growing and succeeding again.
John R. Kolb DVM
AASP Public Relations Committee
jkolb@bi-vetmedica.com
|
|
