November 26, 2010

German meat industry optimistic about abandoning piglet castration

The German meat industry continues to be optimistic about the feasibility of a pig industry without the castration practice in young male piglets.

German food quality watchdog Quality and Security (QS) concluded this on the basis of the results of a one-day workshop, called "Abandonment of piglet castration – status and perspectives", held on November 11, in Berlin, Germany, in which two years' of efforts were evaluated. Other countries around North Western Europe as well as Germany are researching for alternatives on boar castration.

QS has a function of coordinating activities to abolish castration. The organisation spoke at the workshop, which was set up together with the German Federal Ministry for Nutrition, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. Another 200 participants from science, politics, pig industry, slaughterhouses, animal welfare groups, and foodstuffs retailing trade were present to discuss progress since 2008.

In that year, a statement was made to strive for abolition of castration. In the phase leading up to this, painkillers would have to be given to piglets; anesthetics is a practice the Germans denounce. Warnings to Belgian slaughterhouses and processors have already indicated that Vion Foods in Germany is not yet ready for using vaccination against boar taint.

There was unanimity amongst the experts that the market should not be fragmented. Apart from rearing the entire male population, anesthesia by inhalation (isoflurane) also needs to be further evaluated for their suitability on a transition basis.

Massive support for further research is a must, QS acknowledged. Potential solutions for the quality problem in boar meat would be the development of an electronic "nose" and an adjustment of breeding genetics. Apart from that, a plea has been launched for having trained people perform taint detection at the slaughterline.