Reduction in level of Salmonella on swine carcasses after slaughter without splitting the head.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect on the prevalence of Salmonella bacteria on the carcass when leaving the tongue in the intact head and thereby reducing the risk of transferring Salmonella bacteria from the oral cavity, pharynz etc. to the carcass, compared to removing the tongue together with the pluck set. Samples were collected from healthy pigs with an expected high risk of Salmonella bacteria in the intestines. When leaving the tongue in the intact head we found a reduction in Salmonella positive carcasses at 30 %, even though the reduction was not statistically significant because of high variation in the day to day number of Salmonella positive carcasses