Assessment of swine farms in Greece in relation to the risk of exposure of pigs to Trichinella

Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2075/2005 of 5 December 2005 lays down detailed conditions for Trichinella-free farms. The objectives of the present study were: (1) to assess the current state of swine farms in Greece in relation to the risk of exposure of pigs to Trichinella as a first step towards certification of Trichinella-free farms in Greece and (2) to identify a profile and characteristics of swine farms and farmers which can be used to formulate appropriate measures to promote good production practices for reducing risk of exposure of pigs to Trichinella. A total of 70 swine farms were inspected using audit components similar to those used by the U.S. Trichinae Certification Programme. Only four farms (6%) complied with all the criteria used for assessing the good production practices for reducing risk of exposure of pigs to Trichinella. A common characteristic of these four farms was that they had a large size (>300 sows) and produced their own feed. The most common issues among the farms that did not meet audit criteria in the present study were related to proper rodent control and accessibility of other animals in the feed storage area and the facility. In addition, the predominant significant differentiating characteristic for the farms not meeting the criteria was their small (<150 sows) size, while for the farmers it was their low educational level. These characteristics, which are linked to poor infrastructure and reluctance for improvements, respectively, will be difficulties that must be dealt with in the promotion of good production practices for Trichinella-free farms in Greece.