Annual bacteriological monitoring for Salmonella and initiation of the Salmonella Control Plan for the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine (DAFM)

Tender description

A National Salmonella Control Programme (NSCP) for pigs has existed in Ireland in some form since 1997. The fundamental objective of controlling Salmonella at all stages of the food chain is to safeguard public health by protecting consumers from disease. The current programme is given legal effect under S.I. 521/2009 and S.I. 522/2009, with the objective of reducing both the risk of Salmonella to the consumer and the level of salmonella in pigs sent to slaughter. The programme as implemented is agreed between the DAFM, pig producers and pig processors. The Veterinary Public Health component of the Animal Health Ireland Pig Health Check carried out a review of the NSCP, making recommendations to augment the existing programme by providing direction to increase engagement by both farmers and Veterinary Practitioners with the NSCP and to improve the outcomes achieved. The revised programme focuses on the entire food chain, from pre-harvest (farm and transport) to post-harvest (lairage, slaughter, processing) components. The presence of Salmonella in pigs at slaughter is of major public health concern, especially the presence of two serotypes, Salmonella Typhimurium (ST) and monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium (mST) because in addition to the potential of causing disease, they display multiple drug resistance. Little progress has been made in reducing the Salmonella prevalence at herd level despite monitoring of Salmonella seroprevalence at herd level and swabbing of carcases at slaughter. It has been accepted that on-farm bacteriological sampling should be included as a mandatory element of the NSCP, with all farms subject to annual sampling for evidence of public health significance (PHS) serotypes, with further sampling implemented where these are detected. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine invites tenders from commercial laboratories to carry out laboratory testing to detect and culture isolates of Salmonella.