Vol. 492 No. 1
7 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the steps, if any, being taken to combat salmonella infection in pigs in view of the fact that a recent outbreak of salmonella poisoning in Dublin is believed to have been the result of eating infected pig meat; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13385/98]
Since July 1997 a salmonella control programme for pigs has been in place in pig slaughter plants for which my Department has regulatory responsibility. The programme is comprehensive and covers herd management and hygiene at all stages of production from the farm to slaughter and processing.
It should be noted that the greatest risk of salmonella poisoning arises from the handling of the product at the post retail stage. It is thus essential that every precaution is taken to ensure proper cooking and to avoid cross contamination of all meats, including pig meat, at that stage.
As regards the food poisoning outbreak referred to by the Deputy, investigations by the Eastern Health Board are continuing as to its cause.
I am sure the Minister is aware that, from the consumers' view, the outbreak in Dundrum was extremely disturbing, particularly in view of the statement by the chief executive officer of the Food Safety Authority that somebody could have died as a result of it. Can the Minister tell the House the extent of salmonella infection in pigs, the number of herds infected, the benefits or otherwise of the programme mentioned by him and whether it has made any difference to the incidence of infection? In view of the dangers which exist, particularly as many in the retail sector are not conscious of the extent of salmonella infection in pigs, does the Minister acknowledge the need for a far greater effort in advising, informing and ensuring controls are in place at production and all other stages? Will he inform the House of the improvements he intends to make in relation to work being done by the Department in advising farmers and producers?
The control programme was put in place in 1997 and major progress has been made in this context. I am not in a position to inform the Deputy of the number of herds infected, but it is a bare minimum or practically nil. Given the procedures and controls in place, we are satisfied major progress has been made and that we compare favourably with our competitors in others EU member states. The case in Dundrum referred to by the Deputy is still under investigation and I will be made aware of the results as soon as they are available.
The Minister says the problem is practically non-existent while at the same time he is unable to say how many herds are infected by salmonella. Most people will find this statement extraordinary and will not believe it because it is not based on facts. How can the Minister make such a statement if he does not know the extent of the problem? Will the Minister clarify precisely what he means by his statement? Have there been any preliminary findings regarding the extent of this problem which is of real concern to consumers and producers? Some strains of salmonella are creating disease in pigs which has direct implications for producers. I ask the Minister to give a more comprehensive reply and to state exactly what he is talking about.
I stated there is ongoing monitoring of all herds and testing at all points of slaughtering. I do not have the number of infected herds available to me, but I understand it is a bare minimum. Being in the export market we must be very vigilant. The fears expressed by the Deputy are not real as we have to compete with countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries which are major exporters. We must be on the ball and have a pure product. The infection causing the problem is salmonella typhimurium. The procedure at processing stage is that pigs from infected herds are the last to be slaughtered. All herds, infected or otherwise, are being monitored on a regular basis.
Will the Minister of State clarify what exactly is meant by ‘bare minimum'? More than 100 people were seriously affected by the salmonella outbreak in the Dublin area and there was a risk of death. Nobody's fears are unfounded in this. I would like the Minister to give a scientific explanation of what is meant by ‘bare minimum'.
I am not a scientist. However, I assure the Deputy that everything possible is being done at all times to cope with any problems which arise in this area. Although there was an isolated incident in Dublin, I understand there are no further difficulties. We must be vigilant about this issue. Sweden is now salmonella free and Denmark is heading in that direction.
Ireland is not salmonella free.
We will continue to be vigilant; the veterinary service of my Department is doing all in its power to advise farmers on how difficulties might be avoided. Birds and other vermin have a role to play as this is basically a hygiene problem. The best procedures are in place at farm and factory level.
As there are only approximately 700 herds in the country, I am surprised the Minister of State was not able to state the actual number in which salmonella had been discovered. The new residues report on pig meat was one of the great success stories in the food industry in the past year. Arising from various monitoring procedures, all residues have been more or less removed from pork. I hope the new health authority will be in a position to announce that kind of information as it is what consumers want to hear. Will the Minister find out the number of herds in the country in which salmonella is known to exist?
Each herd has an identification number and it would therefore be possible to identify any herd in which the disease was discovered.
