[Recording the lesions in slaughter animals for quality assurance in meat production]

Pathologic-anatomic lesions of lungs, pleura, pericard and liver in slaughter pigs, which can be assigned to the farm of origin, are well suited as indicator for the herd health. The paper demonstrates a code for quantifying the lesions in single animals as well as a code for quantifying the health status of the herds the pigs come from. When used in the framework of integrated quality assurance systems (IQS) for the pork production, slaughter checks and their feed back to the farmer will lead to a gradual improvement of the health status of fattening herds, since it is expected that farmers who are informed about major lacks in their herd health will ask for veterinary consultation. In general, the implementation of IQS from "conception to consumption" will enlarge the importance of the veterinary profession within the production chain for food of animal origin.