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4 Salmonella control of feedstuffs
Kaija Varimo, director, Evira
4.1 Legislation
For over forty years already, inspections have been carried out in Finland for
Salmonella in feedstuffs according to the Feed Act. In 1995 - 2004, both the
Feed Act and the Animal Diseases Act were applied to imports of feeds of animal
origin and to the production and control of certain feeds of animal origin. Hygiene
requirements for feedstuffs has been complemented by national legislation
more extensively than by EU regulations, e.g., regarding feedstuffs of vegetable
origin. Official inspection has controlled each batch of imported raw materials of
vegetable origin presenting Salmonella risks. The EU regulation on by-products
of animal origin applied since 2003 has covered the handling, use and control of
by-products being forwarded for use in feedstuffs as well as other purposes.
Annually, 1.20 - 1.49 million tons of feed mixtures has been produced in Finland.
This trend in production amounts has been slowly growing. Raw materials carefully
controlled for Salmonella by authorities as also partly by operational parties
create prerequisites for the manufacture of products of good hygienic quality.
Feed manufacturers have self-control systems based on the HACCP principle
to eliminate pathogens from feed-manufacturing processes. Authorities control
the production of raw materials as well as compound feeds by taking samples
of final products, and by controlling the company’s self-control. Manufacturers
themselves take samples of the processes and in the production facilities in
accordance with self-control plans that have been verified by the authorities. As
feed mixtures are generally delivered as bulk feeds directly to farms, the Salmonella
risks must already be eliminated in raw materials before manufacturing and
from all the stages of manufacture. Final products are inspected for Salmonella
by random sampling. However, the authority will always increase the frequency
of manufacturing control when hygiene problems occur.
The authority sets marketing prohibitions for feed batches contaminated by
Salmonella. If the owners of the raw material of feedstuffs choose to process
the feed to destroy Salmonella (heating or acidation), they must apply to the
authority for a permit for the procedure. If after processing and repeated analysis
for Salmonella, the batch is found clean, it is released for use as feedstuff. If feed
mixtures are found to contain Salmonella they are not processed but destroyed,
and the factory’s contaminated manufacturing line is closed down for disinfection.
The cause of contamination is investigated, the feeds are traced to farms and
markets, and if necessary, the facilities are disinfected from Salmonella under
supervision by municipal veterinarians.
4.2 Sampling
The Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira regularly inspects manufacturers of
feedstuffs, feed mixtures and feed additives. Samples are taken of feed products
imported, being produced and in markets for analysis in accordance with annual
control plans. Evira has authorized and trained about one hundred part-time
samplers who collect samples for official control. The frequency of sampling and
analysis is decided by the respective Salmonella risks as estimated for each
feed product. Risks are assessed based on long-term control results, the type
of feed product and manner of transport. When estimating the requirements and
Salmonella control and occurence of Salmonella from 1995 to 2004