Food Safety Magazine, February/March 2013

presenting a dilemma for farmers whowant to produce safe pork in an outdoorenvironment.Free-range systems for layers andbroilers face similar problems. Some ofthese systems confine the birds at nightin large cages on wheels, taking the birdsto different locations where they mayforage naturally. This more “natural”existence, however, brings the birds incontact with the feces of deer, rodentsand feral hogs, and because these wildanimals can contaminate vegetables withSalmonella, 22 then free-range poultry canbe contaminated also. Free-range poultryoften share the pasture with cattle, sheepor goats, allowing cross-contaminationbetween species.Scientists have measured Salmonellaprevalence in poultry meat derived frompasture and organic systems, and tend tofind the rates are comparable or higherthan in conventionally produced poultrymeat. 23 Another study tested broilerchickens for Salmonella and found that60 percent from an organic-free rangeproducer tested positive, leading them to conclude, “Consumers should not assumethat free-range or organic conditions will have anything to do with the Salmonellastatus of the chicken.” 24 While organic meats are generally more contaminated withpathogens, those pathogens are less likely to be resistant to antibiotics, so it is difficultto say whether organic meats are riskier to eat. 25 The point is that one cannot assumeorganics are safer.Other articles on the welfare-safety link 26 considered animal treatment beforeslaughter, so we concentrate on other production stages in this paper. Contrary toother discussions on this issue, we also ignore antibiotic resistance in livestock. Thereis a widely held notion that animals can be raised in cramped confinement only ifthey are routinely fed antibiotics to prevent the spread of disease. This does not seemto be the case. Our European contacts testify that the ban on antibiotics in Sweden,Denmark, the United Kingdom and other nations has not altered the production systemsused. 27Consumer PerceptionsPerceptions of food safety are just as important as actual safety, insofar as drivingconsumer choice and retail sales. Food producers face a daunting challenge. Notonly must they raise live animals that are naturally covered with bacteria, viruses andprions, and then transform the animal products into safe foods, producers must convincethe public that the food is safe. Their success is already astonishing if not publiclyacknowledged—for every 39 million Americans, only 1 will die of a food-relatedillness, and he or she is typically very old, very young or has a compromised immunesystem. 28 However, food activists will go to great lengths to convince the public theirfood is unsafe, so livestock industries must not only battle bacteria and germs but sensationalizedinformation as well.Our new Autoplate ® Spiral Plating System: the hot new lab accessory.Now you can spiral plate bacteria with blazing speed and performance that other platers can’t touch.Our new Autoplate delivers 35-second cycle times with three new spiral plating modes. Its innovativeauto-clean capability avoids cross-contamination. And it offers a quick learning curve plus state-of-the-artease of use via an intuitive Windows ® CE touchscreen. Get automated plating productivity fromAdvanced Instruments that’s so hot, it’s really cool!www.aicompanies.com/Auto1 +1 781.320.90001318002 AutoplateFoodSafety.indd 1 1/8/13 9:39 AMF e b r u a r y • M a r c h 2 0 1 3 51