Review: Food safety risks and their implications for the pork industry

The Pork Industry plays a vital role in Australia's food supply, with pork consumption being a significant part of the Australian diet. Market concentration and an expanded product range via multiple supply channels have seen the pork supply chain become significantly more complex. As a consequence, there is a higher risk for a break in the process control and a likely food safety issue. Food safety risks associated with pork production, processing, and consumption pose potential threats to public health and confidence in the industry. Whilst Australia has a robust regulatory framework in place to manage these food safety risks, the existence of product recalls and consumer concern requires the pork industry not to be complacent. This paper explores the food safety risks facing the Australian pork industry and the implications of these both in terms of financial cost and reputational damage. This paper also considers technological solutions that could be utilised by the pork industry to mitigate these food safety risks. Finally, this paper provides a few thoughts on the future directions and challenges the pork industry is likely to face that could have implications for food safety and product quality.