Food safety - pathogens

Activities making a positive contribution:

Activities Score
Vehicles used to transport pigs are cleaned and disinfected after or before animals are transported 10
Vehicles used to transport poultry are cleaned and disinfected after or before animals are transported 10
Do not feed animal protein, or any feeding stuff that contains animal protein, to ruminants 8
Incoming pigs are quarantined 8
Locate pigs units away from sources of salmonella infection, such as other pig farms, landfill sites, abbatoirs and sewage treatment plants 8
Locate poultry units away from sources of salmonella infection, such as other poultry farms, landfill sites, abbatoirs and sewage treatment plants 8
Lorries/trucks/loaders and other equipment used to transport and handle pig feed are kept clean 8
Lorries/trucks/loaders and other equipment used to transport and handle poultry feed are kept clean 8
Pig feed is stored in conditions that prevent deterioration and contamination 8
Poultry feed is stored in conditions that prevent deterioration and contamination 8
Visitors to pig farms pass through adequate disinfection facilities 8
Visitors to poultry farms pass through adequate disinfection facilities 8
Have a well-planned baiting and trapping policy with frequent baiting for rodents on pig farms 7.5
Do not feed products containing gelatine from ruminants or processed animal protein to any farmed animals 7
Do not use fishmeal; blood products; bloodmeal (for feeding to farmed fish); dicalcium phosphate and tricalcium phosphate of animal origin to produce feed for non-ruminants (without authorisation) 7
Ensure pig bedding materials are not contaminated with faeces or corpses of wildlife, rodents, birds, cats or other animals 7
Source straw for pig bedding from specialist arable farms and not mixed farms 7
Source straw for poultry litter from specialist arable farms and not mixed farms 7
Clean up spillages of pig feed 6.5
Pig farm workers are provided with and use protective clothing 6.5
Pig housing, passageways and yards are regularly cleaned 6.5
Poultry farm workers are provided with and use protective clothing 6.5
Poultry housing, passageways and yards are regularly cleaned 6.5
Achieve the correct airflow during grain drying 6
Clean up spillages of poultry feed 6
Comply with movement restrictions and orders to slaughter and destroy animals infected with a TSE 6
Grain stores and harvesting machinery are clean and hygienic 6
Grain stores and well designed and maintained, have good ventilation and air flow and adequate drying capacity for the amount harvested 6
Notify the relevant authority immediately if you know or suspect that an animal or carcass on the farm is infected with a TSE 6
Promptly and carefully dispose of dead birds on poultry farms 6
Promptly and carefully dispose of dead livestock, afterbirths (and similar material that might encourage foxes and other scavengers) on pig farms 6
Protective clothing is regularly disinfected and cleaned on pig farms 6
Protective clothing is regularly disinfected and cleaned on poultry farms 6
Use a diverse crop rotation to reduce the incidence of weeds, pests and diseases in food crops 6
Use ambient air for drying grain 6
Use heated air for drying grain 6
Use pest and disease resistant varieties for food crops 6
Avoid mechanical field operations on arable land when the soil is waterlogged 5
Choose a variety with a high standing power score (on the Recommended List) on lodging-prone sites 5
Control stem-base diseases 5
Control weeds and other vegetation around pig units 5
Shallow spiking, slitting or subsoiling 5
Do not locate field manure heaps in any single position on arable land for more than 12 consecutive months 5
Do not locate field manure heaps on arable land in the same place as an earlier one constructed within the last two years 5
Ensure adequate empty time between flocks 5
Establish a low plant population (less than 200 plants/m2) if drilling early (before October) 5
Include a grass/clover ley during the rotation 5
Include organic acids in pig feed or water supply 5
Include organic acids in poultry feed or water supply 5
Incorporate crop residues 5
Incorporation of FYM into arable land 5
Loading and unloading procedures and techniques minimise distress to pigs 5
Loosen compacted soil layers on arable land 5
Operate an All in/All out system on pig farms 5
Operate an All in/All out system on poultry farms 5
Pig farm workers receive adequate hygiene training and instructions 5
Poultry farm workers receive adequate hygiene training and instructions 5
Restrict applications of nutrients to arable crops when plant uptake is low 5
Slurry is stored for as long as possible (at least 4 weeks) on pig farms 5
Solid manure on pig farms is stacked and composted before spreading 5
Solid poultry manure used on arable farms that does not have bedding mixed into it is covered with an impermeable material 5
Use plant growth regulators (PGRs) on cereal crops 5
Accurate calculation of nutrient requirements of arable crops 4.2
No new waste is added to the slurry during the storage period 4
Predict crop nutrient requirements using canopy management or chlorophyll testing 4
Accurate calculation of nutrients available in livestock manure used on arable crops 3.5
Accurate spreading of fertiliser on arable land 3.5
Cover crop after harvest through the winter 3.5
Regular soil nutrient testing on arable land 3.5
Do not burn crop residues 3
Calibrate fertiliser spreader used on arable land 2
Convert arable land to extensive grassland 2
Do not use manufactured nitrogen fertiliser 2
Livestock have individual (or batch) identification 2
Livestock movements are fully recorded 2
Place limits the amount of nitrogen applied to arable crops 2
Reduce nutrient inputs to arable land 2
The ingredients of livestock feeds are known and are fully traceable 2

Activities making a negative contribution:

Activities Score
Continuous cropping (monoculture) -6
Grain is stored damp and not dried -6
Grain stores and harvesting machinery are not kept clean and hygienic -6
Apply nitrogen in excess of arable crop requirements -5
Convert grassland to arable (by ploughing) -5
Drain and cultivate peat soils -5
Undertake mechanical field operations on arable land when the soil is waterlogged -5
Arable land is left with a rough surface following operations such as ploughing, discing or tine cultivation -3
Zero tillage -0.2

Defra Project IF0131
Assessment of reduction in environmental burdens through targeted measures compared with whole farm approaches in cropping and livestock systems
© AERU, University of Hertfordshire
Friday 30 October 2009