The National Poultry Council – Chamber of Commerce and the Polish Meat Association responded to the British media’s accusations about the alleged threat posed by Polish poultry.
We recently wrote about British media reports that the local food safety services are considering suspending the import of Polish poultry due to the alleged risk of Salmonella infections.
In a joint position, the Polish Meat Association and the National Poultry Council – Chamber of Commerce commented on the matter. As we read in the press release, the organizations deny the above-mentioned information and emphasize that Polish poultry meat has been and will be safe:
“National production standards result from both rigorous EU regulations and quality procedures implemented by companies operating in Poland, very often with foreign capital, including British,” we read.
The authors of the letter remind us that both the breeding and production conditions are, at every stage, under constant supervision of state institutions that carry out many control procedures and ensure that the products are fully safe for the health of consumers. The meat that goes on sale is a completely safe product, which is guaranteed by strict provisions of both Polish and EU law. The entire process is supervised by veterinarians who supervise the herds on a daily basis, as well as the Veterinary Inspection, which inspects animals and meat obtained from them.
Consumers appreciate Polish poultry
As representatives of the organization add, the poultry produced by our country has been appreciated for years not only by Polish, but also by European and global consumers.
“This is why Poland is the leading producer of poultry meat in the entire European Union, and over half of the national production is exported. Polish producers have worked long and hard to gain their position and would never allow themselves to question the reputation of Polish poultry on global markets,” we read.
Salmonella control program
As representatives of KRD-IG and ZPM emphasize, since joining the European Union, Poland has been covered by a program for combating Salmonella in poultry flocks. In accordance with EU regulations, each member state is obliged (by introducing national Salmonella control programs) to achieve the Community goal of limiting the spread of the disease and pathogens. In the case of Poland, this goal has been achieved in broiler flocks, as the number of positive tests is currently well below 1%. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, in 2022, for almost 50 thousand. herds tested, the number of infected was only 0.24%.
“The current goal of the program is to maintain the level of Salmonella serotype infections covered by the program or to reduce it,” we read.
Scale effect
As the authors of the commentary add, due to the high scale of poultry production in Poland (our country ranks third in the world in terms of poultry exports), there are notifications in the Early Warning System for Unsafe Food and Feed (RASFF). At the same time, analyzing these data, it is clear that the presence of Salmonella was detected, among others, in meat deliveries from Belgium, France, Hungary, Romania, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Ukraine. This indicates that the Salmonella problem does not concern only our country, as suggested by publications in the British media.
Food safety and quality systems
“Full safety of the poultry production process is guaranteed by the HACPP system in force in the European Union. Additionally, most Polish poultry producers also use additional safety systems, such as ISF or BRC, and some producers also use food quality systems such as QAFP. The combination of these safety and quality systems means in practice a guarantee of high quality of Polish poultry production,” comment KRD-IG and ZPM experts.
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