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September 06-08, 2018 | Edinburgh, Scotland
Food safety and Hygiene
International Conference on
Journal of Food Technology and Preservation | ISSN: 2591-796X | Volume 2
Ólafur Oddgeirsson
Food Control Consultants, ltd., Scotland
Enhanced risk based live animal and meat inspection
Most foodborne risks are associated with food of animal
origin such as meat, milk, fish, eggs and honey. The
majorityarebiological risks suchas zoonosis andantimicrobial
resistance, however chemical risks in the form of residues of
veterinary medicinal products, pesticides and environmental
chemicals are increasingly important. The origin of the
latter can be traced in most cases to activities related to the
livestock itself or its feed while the farming methods and
animal health condition on the farms have a major impact
on the former. Rules on food safety in Europe and around the
world are based on controls along the food chain and in case
of meat the main control points applied are live animal and
meat inspection. These rules have remained the similar for
more than hundred years and although having major impact
on food safety when introduced they do not capture the
food safety hazards prevalent today, such as various bacterial
intestinal diseases, antimicrobial resistance and residues. An
enhanced and reformed live animal and meat inspection
is proposed linked to a modern animal identification and
movement control system. This proposal includes increased
sampling during slaughter to verify the presence of
biological and/ or chemical risk as well as establishing a data
depository accessible to farmers, their veterinary surgeons,
official veterinarian at the slaughterhouse as well as the
competent authority and other stakeholders as appropriate.
The impact and benefit of the system proposed will increase
over time based on historical data and experience gained.
Speaker Biography
Ólafur Oddgeirsson is the managing director of Food Control Consultants ltd (FCC). He
has graduated from the Veterinary University in Hannover, Germany in 1977 and finished
post graduate training in 1980 from the same university on food safety topics. He has
worked as a director of a dairy laboratory for ten years; then being a senior veterinary
officer at the EFTA Surveillance Authority for seven years responsible for checking the
implementation and application of the EU veterinary legislation in present and former
EFTA states. Since 1999 he has worked as an international consultant, i.a. extensively for
the TAIEX office of DG Enlargement in Brussels (now DG NEAR) providing assessments of
veterinary systems in Candidate Countries, both official supervision and industry controls
and later on numerous international food safety development projects. Dr. Oddgeirsson
has carried out numerous assessments of food establishments, in particular processing
fish, but also meat and milk and frequently delivered lectures on public health, animal
health and zoonotic diseases. During his work he has gained an international recognition
for his knowledge of EU legislation and SPS standards on animal health and food safety.
e:
Ólafur Oddgeirsson, Food Safety 2018, Volume 2
DOI: 10.4066/2591-796X-C1-001