[Microbial risks--from animal farming to the food]

Microorganisms by far are representing the most important cause for food safety risks. Sources of food contamination are given along the whole food chain. The most frequent causative agents of food infections, Salmonella and Campylobacter, mostly can be found in the animals herds. A real improvement of the situation can only be reached by a strong inclusion of the agricultural area in the programs for repressing the pathogens. Problems in animal health and premortal stress of the slaughter animals cause considerable bacterial translocation processes and increase the consumer risks. Only few publications exist on the influence of the animal farming systems on the development of microbial food risks. The consumer accepts only animal management systems, which meet the demands for animal welfare, economical efficiency and especially the demand for product safety.