Rethinking the fight against pig-related human salmonellosis in the European union

The prevalence of human salmonellosis associated with pork products remains a significant concern for public health authorities within the European Union. Despite the implementation of national programs in some member states with the objective of controlling the infection of Salmonella in farms, the proportion of human cases involving swine-associated Salmonella serotypes has remained constant in recent years, and the majority of these programs were either discontinued or reduced to biosecurity guidance. This article discusses the reasons for the lack of success of these programs, including the focus on the growing-finishing period without consideration of earlier stages of production, the structure of the pig sector, the limited and unrepresentative sampling carried out in the programs, and the use of imperfect serological tests, which have likely resulted in biased estimates of the true health status of the herds. A potential comprehensive approach is proposed, based on predicting the risk of Salmonella shedding prior to the arrival of pigs at the slaughter. This knowledge would be combined with the administration of on-farm additives (i.e. organic acids, bacteriophages) during the days prior to slaughter. It would help to reduce shedding in those batches with a high risk of shedding and decrease slaughter environmental contamination. Furthermore, this approach would contribute to obtain more accurate information regarding the Salmonella status of the pig farms.