Salmonella and Campylobacter infections in outdoor organic pigs

Summary

There is only limited data available on the prevalence of zoonotic bacteria like Salmonella and Campylobacter specifically in organic pigs, but the increased exposure to these pathogens in the outdoor environment may influence the food safety of organic pork. However, the late weaning, low stocking density and roughage may help to increase the resistance to bacterial infections in organically reared pigs.
Outdoor organic pigs were inoculated with Salmonella and mixed with Salmonella-free pigs to study the transmission between pigs. Following, the infection risk associated with the use of Salmonella-contaminated pastures was assessed by introducing new Salmonella-free pigs into the contaminated paddocks.
Campylobacter is considered a natural part of pigs’ intestinal flora and the investigations had special focus on the distribution of Campylobacter coli and C. jejuni. The increased exposure of outdoor pigs to C. jejuni from the environment may cause a shift from a normal dominance of C. coli towards more C. jejuni, which would imply a food safety concern, as C. jejuni is the major cause of human campylobacteriosis.