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Also attending were representatives of the Food Standards Agency (Scotland) and Quality Meat Scotland. There was local press interest.

The SAC team are involved in assessing the potential for controlling microbiological food-borne hazards at farm level. They are also developing practical guidelines and intervention protocols that can be applied to control food-borne diseases such as E. coli O157 or Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP). 

At the Drummondhill meeting, representatives from the Danish poultry industry described how, by implementing control measures at national level, they have been successful in tackling salmonella and campylobacter in the production phase. This has been linked to a reduction in the number of reported cases of e.g. human salmonellosis.

Their approach involved combining routine testing and economic “carrots” to encourage farmers to apply strict biosecurity measures. The meeting agreed that controlling food-borne pathogens at farm level is important but can only be achieved by effective communication and a joint effort by all the stakeholders in the food sector.