Pig World
  • News
      • Animal Health
      • Breeding
      • Business
      • Environment
      • EU
      • Food Safety
      • Housing
      • Marketing
      • NPA
      • National Pig Awards
      • New Products
      • Nutrition
      • People
      • Pig Fair
      • Politics
      • Training & Education
      • Welfare
  • Features
    • Animal Health
    • Breeding
    • Environment
    • Farm Visits
    • Herd Recording
    • Housing
    • Marketing
    • Nutrition
    • Products
    • Training
  • Comment
    • AHDB Pork
    • Chris Fogden
    • Dennis Bridgeford
    • Peter Crichton
    • Red Robin
    • Veterinary View
    • Zoe Davies, NPA
  • Numbers
  • Pig Prices
  • Magazines
    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • 2025 Buildings supplement
    • February 2025
    • 2025 Nutrition Supplement
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • National Pig Awards supplement
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • August 2024
    • 2024 Pig Health supplement
    • July 2024
    • June 2024
    • Innovation supplement 2024
    • Pig & Poultry Fair Guide 2024
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • Buildings Supplement
    • March 2024
    • Pig Nutrition (Beyond Zinc)
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • National Pig Awards Supplement 2023
    • October 2023
    • September 2023
    • Health Supplement
  • Suppliers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Classified
  • Events
    • Pigs Tomorrow
    • National Pig Awards
Podcast
Pig WorldPig World
  • News
      • Animal Health
      • Breeding
      • Business
      • Environment
      • EU
      • Food Safety
      • Housing
      • Marketing
      • NPA
      • National Pig Awards
      • New Products
      • Nutrition
      • People
      • Pig Fair
      • Politics
      • Training & Education
      • Welfare
  • Features
    • Animal Health
    • Breeding
    • Environment
    • Farm Visits
    • Herd Recording
    • Housing
    • Marketing
    • Nutrition
    • Products
    • Training
  • Comment
    • AHDB Pork
    • Chris Fogden
    • Dennis Bridgeford
    • Peter Crichton
    • Red Robin
    • Veterinary View
    • Zoe Davies, NPA
  • Numbers
  • Pig Prices
  • Magazines
    1. May 2025
    2. April 2025
    3. March 2025
    4. 2025 Buildings supplement
    5. February 2025
    6. 2025 Nutrition Supplement
    7. January 2025
    8. December 2024
    9. November 2024
    10. National Pig Awards supplement
    11. October 2024
    12. September 2024
    13. August 2024
    14. 2024 Pig Health supplement
    15. July 2024
    16. June 2024
    17. Innovation supplement 2024
    18. Pig & Poultry Fair Guide 2024
    19. May 2024
    20. April 2024
    21. Buildings Supplement
    22. March 2024
    23. Pig Nutrition (Beyond Zinc)
    24. February 2024
    25. January 2024
    26. December 2023
    27. November 2023
    28. National Pig Awards Supplement 2023
    29. October 2023
    30. September 2023
    31. Health Supplement
    Featured

    May 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    May 1, 2025
    Recent

    May 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    May 1, 2025

    April 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    April 4, 2025

    March 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    March 6, 2025
  • Suppliers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Classified
  • Events
    • Pigs Tomorrow
    • National Pig Awards
LinkedIn X (Twitter)
Pig World
News

NPA issues waste feed reminder after comments by Bake Off’s Prue Leith

Alistair DriverBy Alistair DriverOctober 5, 20173 Mins Read
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Email

The NPA has issued a reminder to Prue Leith and all pig keepers on the dangers of feeding food waste to pigs.

The host of the popular Channel 4 show has revealed she gave the leftover cakes and bread from the show go to a neighbour to feed to their pigs. This continued until a vet intervened as the pigs were getting too fat, she said, according the Telegraph, adding: “One of the cameramen has pigs and his vet hasn’t said no.”

In a press release, the NPA said itunderstands the temptation for people to feed waste food to pigs. However, we stressed that for very good reasons, it is illegal to feed catering waste (even if it doesn’t contain meat), kitchen scraps, meat or meat products to farmed animals.

The 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak was officially linked to the feeding of swill containing infected meat to pigs on a farm in Northumberland. Before that an outbreak of Classical Swine Fever (CSF) in 2000 was thought to have originated when a pig kept outdoors ate a discarded ham sandwich.

African Swine Fever (ASF) is currently causing devastation in a number of Eastern European countries, recently leaping west to reach the Czech Republic and Romania for the first time. Affecting commercial farms, backyard farms and wild boar, some recent outbreaks, notably in the Czech Republic, have been linked to human spread via infected meat.

The European Commission has warned that the spread of ASF poses a ‘serious risk to the European pigmeat market’, while in the UK, the Animal Plant and Health Agency’s (APHA) pig division has singled out ASF as its biggest exotic disease concern. APHA recently has raised the ASF risk threat from ‘very low’ to ‘low’.

Devastating diseases

NPA chief executive Zoe Davies said: “We appreciate that Prue Leith’s actions and her reported comments were made with the best intentions.

“But we simply cannot stress enough the risk posed to the pig industry by the feeding of waste food to pigs. The reality is that this is the most likely route for devastating diseases like ASF to get into our domestic pig population. An outbreak of ASF, or other diseases circulating around the world like FMD or CSF, would be catastrophic for the pig industry and the wider farming community.

“Most commercial farmers understand this, but as Prue Leith’s comments highlight, the message still isn’t getting through to members of the public, including those who keep small numbers of livestock and apparently their vets.

“Our message is a simple – do not feed catering waste to your pigs!”

The APHA, in partnership with the pig industry, has been running a social media and PR campaign this year to raise awareness of the disease risks inherent in feeding catering waste to farmed animals. It is currently looking to step up the campaign to focus on the risk of introducing ASF into the national pig herd in light of its spread in Eastern Europe.

Zoe added added: “We fully support this campaign and will continue to try and ram the message home to all pig keepers and the wider public.”

Share. LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email
Previous ArticleA magnificent response to Tulip fire, but these are difficult times
Next Article Lacklustre EU pork demand adding to pressure on prices
Alistair Driver

Editor Pig World, group editor Agronomist and Arable Farmer and Farm Contractor. National Pig Association webmaster. Former political editor at Farmers Guardian. Occasional media pundit. Brought up on a Leicestershire farm. Works from a shed in his Oxfordshire garden.

Read Similar Stories

Aldi reinforces British commitment amid trade deal threat

May 15, 2025

GB pig prices for week ending May 10, 2025 – SPP drops back

May 14, 2025

UK livestock sectors urged to take part in survey on vaccine availability

May 14, 2025
Latest News

Aldi reinforces British commitment amid trade deal threat

May 15, 2025

GB pig prices for week ending May 10, 2025 – SPP drops back

May 14, 2025

UK livestock sectors urged to take part in survey on vaccine availability

May 14, 2025
Sponsored Content

THE GATEKEEPER OF RESPIRATORY HEALTH – MYCOPLASMA HYOPNEUMONIAE (M.HYO)

April 30, 2024

Tackle the root cause of PWD with free diagnostic tests

March 1, 2024
Current Pig Industry jobs
  • Pig Stockperson – Ref 1739 Devon

    • Devon
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
  • Pig Stockperson – Ref 1738 Co. Fermanagh

    • County Fermanagh
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
  • Stockperson

    • Swaffham, Norfolk
    • DYER LIVESTOCK LTD
    • Full Time
GETTING IN TOUCH
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Meet The Editors
  • About Us
  • Email Newsletters
  • Subscribe
  • Reuse permissions
OUR SOCIAL CHANNELS
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
PARTNER EVENTS
RELATED SITES
  • Farmers Weekly
  • Agronomist & Arable Farmer
  • Farm Contractor
  • National Pig Awards
  • Pigs Tomorrow
  • Poultry News
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
© 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.