PHWC Food Safety

The PHWC's Food Safety subgroup aims to be the authoritative group for advice on strategic policy, surveillance, research and the management and control of zoonotic hazards in pig meat production.

The Food Safety subgroup aims is developing a road map to achieve improvements in pig meat safety.

This work requires extensive investigation and evaluation of current knowledge on reducing zoonotic-related food risks and collaboration with government, pig keepers, producers, vets, processors, retailers and allied industries.

The inclusion of all these groups ensures there is ‘whole chain’ ownership of the road map and shared commitment to its outcomes.

The group has built up strong links with Health Protection England and their experts attend the meetings to provide an update on the situation in humans in relation to each disease.

This has enabled the group to react in the early stages of any potential changes in the number of human cases and to initiate interventions.

The main areas the group focuses on are:

• Salmonella
• Hepatitis E
• Livestock-associated methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA)
• Trichinella