The abattoir assessment dates for July to December 2013 have been published for the BPEX Pig Health Scheme (BPHS).
The scheme provides producers with detailed carcase information relating to health issues including pneumonia, pleurisy, APP and worms. The data on subclinical disease is invaluable to producers, helping them assess the effectiveness of interventions on farm, such as using a new vaccine.
Producers who are part of the BPEX Pig Health Improvement Project (PHIP) receive these BPHS reports free of charge. Using the service is simple – once signed up, producers send their pigs to one of the fourteen participating abattoirs on an assessment day and they then receive a report within two days detailing the health of their pigs. This can be monitored and discussed with the farm vet to help make positive changes to health management on farm.
BPEX is currently working with two high-throughput abattoirs to compare the data collected by BPHS with that compiled by the Food Standards Agency meat inspectors, known as Collection and Communication of Inspection Reports (CCIR).
CCIR reports are currently distributed to producers for every batch of pigs processed and focus on conditions affecting condemnation at slaughter. BPEX is helping to align CCIR and BPHS to provide a more comprehensive service for producers in the future.
The full list of dates can be found o the BPEX website: www.bpex.org.uk/2TS/health/Bphs/AssessmentDays.aspx