Effects of <em>post-mortem</em> inspection techniques change on the detection capability of low public health impact diseases of slaughtered pigs: A quasi-experimental study

Slaughtered animals are regularly submitted to post-mortem inspection to ensure that all the edible parts are fit for human consumption. According to Regulation (EU) No 219/2014, pig carcasses inspection is exclusively visual as palpation and incision could lead to cross-contamination and spread of relevant zoonotic agents. However, when compared to incision and palpation, the visual method is characterized by low sensitivity; thus, the omission of incision and palpation could lead to a reduced detection capability of organic lesions. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of exclusively visual inspection to mark pulmonary and hepatic lesions associated with low public health impact diseases in pork carcasses. A quasiexperimental- before/after research protocol has been used. All the post-mortem inspections have been carried out in a slaughterhouse located in the province of Teramo (IT), on 7,764 swine from 2011 to 2017. Carcasses undergone the only visual inspection have shown a statistically significant reduction (pvalue