Food safety - pathogens Minimise the risk posed to human health by certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) Prevent livestock with TSEs entering the food chain Notify the relevant authority immediately if you know or suspect that an animal or carcass on the farm is infected with a TSE
Comply with movement restrictions and orders to slaughter and destroy animals infected with a TSE
Reduce the incidence of TSEs in livestock Do not feed animal protein, or any feeding stuff that contains animal protein, to ruminants
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)
Do not feed products containing gelatine from ruminants or processed animal protein to any farmed animals
Reduced incidence of Listeria monocytogenes in food Reduced levels of Listeria monocytogenes in dairy products
Reduced incidence of Clostridium perfringens in food Reduced contamination of meat products with Clostridium perfringens
Reduced incidence of E. coli O157 in food Reduced contamination of meat products with E. Coli
Reduced incidence of salmonella in food Reduced contamination of meat products with salmonella Reduce the incidence of salmonella in pigs Prevent pigs from becoming infected with salmonella Keep salmonella out of pig farms Locate pigs units away from sources of salmonella infection, such as other pig farms, landfill sites, abbatoirs and sewage treatment plants
Pig feed is stored in conditions that prevent deterioration and contamination
Pig farm workers are provided with and use protective clothing
Pig housing, passageways and yards are regularly cleaned
Incoming pigs are quarantined
Visitors to pig farms pass through adequate disinfection facilities
Vehicles used to transport pigs are cleaned and disinfected after or before animals are transported
Lorries/trucks/loaders and other equipment used to transport and handle pig feed are kept clean
Bedding materials for pigs are not contaminated with salmonella Ensure pig bedding materials are not contaminated with faeces or corpses of wildlife, rodents, birds, cats or other animals Discourage pests/animals that can carry disease (such as rodents, wild birds, cats, dogs, foxes and insects) around pig units Clean up spillages of pig feed
Promptly and carefully dispose of dead livestock, afterbirths (and similar material that might encourage foxes and other scavengers) on pig farms
Control weeds and other vegetation around pig units
Have a well-planned baiting and trapping policy with frequent baiting for rodents on pig farms
Source straw for pig bedding from specialist arable farms and not mixed farms
Control rodents Have a well-planned baiting and trapping policy with frequent baiting for rodents on pig farms
Pig farm workers receive adequate hygiene training and instructions
Discourage pests/animals that can carry disease (such as rodents, wild birds, cats, dogs, foxes and insects) around pig units Clean up spillages of pig feed
Promptly and carefully dispose of dead livestock, afterbirths (and similar material that might encourage foxes and other scavengers) on pig farms
Control weeds and other vegetation around pig units
Protective clothing is regularly disinfected and cleaned on pig farms
Eliminate/control salmonella in pigs Pig housing, passageways and yards are regularly cleaned
Pig farm workers are provided with and use protective clothing
Stress increases the shedding of salmonella, so should be minimised Loading and unloading procedures and techniques minimise distress to pigs
Include organic acids in pig feed or water supply
Promptly and carefully dispose of dead livestock, afterbirths (and similar material that might encourage foxes and other scavengers) on pig farms
Reduce salmonella in slurry and manure on pig farms Solid manure on pig farms is stacked and composted before spreading
No new waste is added to the slurry during the storage period
Slurry is stored for as long as possible (at least 4 weeks) on pig farms
Protective clothing is regularly disinfected and cleaned on pig farms
Break the cycle of reinfection on pig farms Operate an All in/All out system on pig farms
Reduce the incidence of salmonella in poultry Prevent poultry from becoming infected with salmonella Keep salmonella out of poultry farms Locate poultry units away from sources of salmonella infection, such as other poultry farms, landfill sites, abbatoirs and sewage treatment plants
Protective clothing is regularly disinfected and cleaned on poultry farms
Discourage pests/animals that can carry disease (such as rodents, wild birds, cats, dogs, foxes and insects) around poultry farms Clean up spillages of poultry feed
Promptly and carefully dispose of dead birds on poultry farms
Poultry farm workers receive adequate hygiene training and instructions
Bedding/litter materials for poultry are not contaminated with salmonella Source straw for poultry litter from specialist arable farms and not mixed farms
Lorries/trucks/loaders and other equipment used to transport and handle poultry feed are kept clean
Vehicles used to transport poultry are cleaned and disinfected after or before animals are transported
Poultry housing, passageways and yards are regularly cleaned
Poultry farm workers are provided with and use protective clothing
Poultry feed is stored in conditions that prevent deterioration and contamination
Visitors to poultry farms pass through adequate disinfection facilities
Eliminate/control salmonella in poultry Poultry farm workers are provided with and use protective clothing
Break the cycle of reinfection on poultry farms Operate an All in/All out system on poultry farms
Ensure adequate empty time between flocks
Include organic acids in poultry feed or water supply
Protective clothing is regularly disinfected and cleaned on poultry farms
Poultry housing, passageways and yards are regularly cleaned
Reduced levels of salmonella in eggs
Livestock products are fully traceable to their source Livestock have individual (or batch) identification
The ingredients of livestock feeds are known and are fully traceable
Livestock movements are fully recorded
Reduced incidence of campylobacter in food Reduced contamination of meat products with campylobacter
Reduced incidence of fusarium mycotoxins in food Reduce head blight inoculum Lower levels of infected crop debris on soil surface Incorporate crop residues Minimal tillage
Zero tillage
Continuous cropping (monoculture)
Use a diverse crop rotation to reduce the incidence of weeds, pests and diseases in food crops
Reduced Ochratoxin A production on cereal grains during storage Grain is rapidly dried to below 18% moisture content (15% for long-term storage) Grain stores and well designed and maintained, have good ventilation and air flow and adequate drying capacity for the amount harvested
Achieve the correct airflow during grain drying
Use ambient air for drying grain
Use heated air for drying grain
Grain is stored damp and not dried
Avoid fungal spores being carried over between seasons Grain stores and harvesting machinery are clean and hygienic
Grain stores and harvesting machinery are not kept clean and hygienic
Grain is rapidly cooled to below 15C (and kept below 5C during winter)
Use pest and disease resistant varieties for food crops
Avoid humid conditions in crops condusive to mycotoxin production Reduce lodging in crops Accurate calculation of nutrient requirements of arable crops
Establish a low plant population (less than 200 plants/m2) if drilling early (before October)
Use plant growth regulators (PGRs) on cereal crops
Control stem-base diseases
Reduced excess nitrogen accumulation in arable soils Increase vegetative uptake of nutrients by arable crops Cover crop after harvest through the winter
Improve soil structure on arable land Minimal tillage
Zero tillage
Undertake mechanical field operations on arable land when the soil is waterlogged
Loosen compacted soil layers on arable land Shallow spiking, slitting or subsoiling
Avoid mechanical field operations on arable land when the soil is waterlogged
Increase soil organic matter on arable land Incorporate crop residues Minimal tillage
Zero tillage
Do not burn crop residues
Include a grass/clover ley during the rotation
Incorporation of FYM into arable land
Reduce soil organic carbon oxidation on arable land Convert grassland to arable (by ploughing)
Zero tillage
Minimal tillage
Drain and cultivate peat soils
Cover crop after harvest through the winter
Improve arable crop establishment Arable land is left with a rough surface following operations such as ploughing, discing or tine cultivation
Improve arable crop nutrition Accurate calculation of nutrient requirements of arable crops
Predict crop nutrient requirements using canopy management or chlorophyll testing
Convert arable land to extensive grassland
Apply nitrogen in excess of arable crop requirements
Solid poultry manure used on arable farms that does not have bedding mixed into it is covered with an impermeable material
Do not locate field manure heaps on arable land in the same place as an earlier one constructed within the last two years
Do not locate field manure heaps in any single position on arable land for more than 12 consecutive months
Restrict applications of nutrients to arable crops when plant uptake is low
Reduce nutrient inputs to arable land Place limits the amount of nitrogen applied to arable crops
Do not use manufactured nitrogen fertiliser
Accurate application of nutrients to arable crops Calibrate fertiliser spreader used on arable land
Accurate calculation of nutrients available in livestock manure used on arable crops
Accurate spreading of fertiliser on arable land
Regular soil nutrient testing on arable land
Predict crop nutrient requirements using canopy management or chlorophyll testing
Accurate calculation of nutrient requirements of arable crops
Convert arable land to extensive grassland
Accurate application of nutrients to arable crops Calibrate fertiliser spreader used on arable land
Accurate calculation of nutrients available in livestock manure used on arable crops
Accurate spreading of fertiliser on arable land
Regular soil nutrient testing on arable land
Predict crop nutrient requirements using canopy management or chlorophyll testing
Accurate calculation of nutrient requirements of arable crops
Choose a variety with a high standing power score (on the Recommended List) on lodging-prone sites