Meat inspection of reindeer – a rich source of data for monitoring food safety and animal and environmental health in Sweden

ABSTRACT

Background: ​This study scrutinized carcass conditions recorded in post mortem inspections (PMI) of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus, L.) during 2015–2016 because of the importance for monitoring food safety and animal and environmental health threats.

Material and methods: PMI results were retrieved from the National Food Agency. A negative binomial regression model was applied. For actual parameters, incident risk rate (IRR) with confidence intervals was calculated.

Results and discussion: The number of conditions found in PMI varied widely between years and batches. The most common conditions (43 and 57% of all reindeer slaughtered in 2015 and 2016, respectively) derived from non-zoonotic parasites as the most abundant one, Hypoderma tarandi. Setaria sp. as well as both inflammatory processes and trauma were found in low prevalences. Further investigation of interactions with slaughterhouse size and inspector experience is needed. The conditions found rarely indicated food safety hazards and no epizooties or zoonoses have been recorded in the past two decades. Visual PMI with complementary sampling for specific hazards in slaughterhouses could thus be a helpful tool for monitoring the health and welfare of the reindeer population, the food safety risks with reindeer meat, and the status of the environment.

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KEYWORDS:

• Meat inspection
• reindeer
• monitoring
• food safety
• animal welfare
• environment

Disclosure statement

The corresponding author is employed by NFA in Sweden and is currently working on internal analysis of official inspections, but is not directly involved in NFA meat inspections or control activities. All authors declare that they have no competing economic interest.​