Farm-Scape, Episode 1573

Manitoba Pork Council is encouraging swine producers to make the switch to 100 percent detectable needles.

There are currently two detectable needles available on the market, the Ideal D3 and the PDN needle. Olymel and Maple Leaf Pork have both asked producers to switch to the 100 percent detectable needles.

Manitoba Pork Council Swine Extension Specialist Melanie Couture says physical hazards in pork are unacceptable and these new needles help reduce the risk.

"The detectable needles are made of metals that are 100 percent detectable by the metal detectors in packing plants.

Even if they are scanned just over the shaft and it's a very tiny section of the needle that's being scanned it's still being picked up.

With the needles that aren't detectable there's no way of finding a little slip of metal in the meat if it's there.

It's not a huge problem but even one is too many. I think one of the worst things that can happen to a consumer is to cut into a piece of pork and there be a needle.

We can't have it happening at all so we have to go to every precaution we can. We've brought in the CQA program to deal with it.

We've developed tag and tail ear tags to notify plants and to help producers be aware of the problems that are associated with a broken needle in a pig.

Maple Leaf is even going a step further in saying we will not accept any pigs with broken needles in them and we will also require that you use 100 percent detectable needles and you will sign a paper stating that you are using those."

Couture expects the use of detectable needles to become standard practice throughout the industry.

She says the processors are prepared to work with producers to assist them in adopting the protocols that will help them address the concerns.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.