THE ROLE OF THE

VETERINARIAN IN ASSURING
THE HEALTH AND SAFETY
OF MEAT
 Veterinary Public Health
• Definition :
"Veterinary Public Health is a component
of public health activities devoted to
the application of professional
veterinary skills, knowledge and
resources for the protection and
improvement of human health."
(WHO/FAO 1975)
 Food animal production
• The raising of livestock for meat, milk, and eggs has been
an integral part of the food production system.
• The health of food producing animals is intrinsically linked to
human health. That is to say, factors that affect food animal
health will in turn, affect human health.
• So , if you improve the health of animals, the health of the
human population should not be compromised.
• Furthermore, under globalization, with expanding
domestic and international trade on animals and animal
products, and with the changes in climate and environment,
human society has been suffering from more maladies from
the animal world.
• Food animal production have intensified
and evolved over the past 50 years and
consequently the numbers of animals
have increased substantially.
• The increase in production efficiency
results from several factors including:
• preventive medicine,
• genetic selection, and
• improved nutrition and management.
 Veterinary medical care in food
animals consists of the use of :
• Vaccines and prophylactic medications to
prevent or minimize infections.
• Antibiotics and parasiticides to treat active
infection or to prevent disease onset.
• Antibiotic drugs and hormones for production
enhancement, growth promotion, and
improved feed efficiency.
• A totally risk-free system of food production is an
unreasonable and fundamentally unattainable.
Three types of hazards have generally been
associated with food, including meat:
• Biological hazards include those hazards arising
from the consumption of food containing pathogenic
microorganisms derived from the animal itself or as
a result of contamination from other sources
( intrinsic and extrinsic).
• Chemical hazards include antibiotics, growth
promotants, pesticides, herbicides, food additives,
environmental contaminants, and chemicals
naturally occurring in foods.
• Physical hazards include those items or objects that
are hard or sharp and may cause injury, such as
metal, wood or bone splinters and glass
 Veterinarians are involved in food
safety at various levels:
• Regulatory medicine veterinarians :
- control or eliminate certain diseases and protecting
the public from animal diseases that can affect
people.
- prevent foreign diseases from entering the country
by enforcing quarantines and inspecting animals.
- supervise interstate shipments of animals.
- test for the presence of diseases, and manage
campaigns to prevent and eradicate diseases that
threaten animal and human health such as
tuberculosis, brucellosis, and rabies.
• Veterinarians who are livestock inspectors:
- check animals for transmissible disease,
- advise owners on treatment,
- and may quarantine animals.
• Veterinarians who are, meat, poultry, or
egg product inspectors:
- examine slaughtering and processing
plants.
- check live animals and carcasses for
disease.
- enforce government regulations regarding
food purity and sanitation.
• Their prime purpose of an inspection program is to
ensure that meat is safe, wholesome, and suitable
for human consumption using the following criteria:
• It will not cause food-borne infection or intoxication
when properly handled and prepared with respect to
the intended use.
• It does not contain residues in excess of established
limits
• It is free of obvious contamination
• It is free of defects that are recognized as
objectionable to consumers
• It has been produced under adequate hygiene
control