Animal welfare and food safety: danger, risk and the distribution of responsibility

Summary

Increased animal welfare may pose risks for public health, such as increased bacterial, viral or parasitic infections or an increased level of environmental contaminants in the food product. Examples include Campylobacter in organic boilers, Toxoplasma in pigs and poultry meat and Mycobacterium paratuberculosis in milk. Concerning environmental contaminants it is known that free-foraging laying hens will produce eggs that contain higher dioxin levels than hens kept in cages. Furthermore, outdoor chickens are considered to play an important role in the case of Avian flu outbreaks. This review indicates that it is possible to tackle each of the issues mentioned. Risk management is not only a responsibility of the government, but also should be divided amongst the participants in the food chain, including the consumer. To this end it is important that transparency about risks be maintained and optimal communication employed.