Taking place this week in Foz do Iguaçu (PR) are the Pork Expo 2014 and the VII International Congress on Swine, according to EMBRAPA.

Among the hot topics is the nutritional management of piglets and their daily care can affect their performance.

Also during the conference, participants can find out more about emerging pig diseases and how they can be prevented from researchers Gustavo Lima and Janice Zanella.

The Pork Expo is supported by the pig and poultry group of Embrapa in Concordia (SC), part of the decentralised business unit of agricultural research under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA).

At the company's booth, visitors can learn about some of the technologies, products and services of the Unit, as well as information about the new strain of swine genetics.

Already available in the market in the Embrapa female MO25C, which aims to be versatile, offering good piglet production as well as superior meat quality in slaughter pigs.

The MO25C can meet the demands of a diverse market, says EMBRAPA, which includes supermarkets, steakhouses, restaurants, external market and cured products (prosciutto, copa, salami), who are increasingly demanding quality fresh meat as well as pork for processing.

The main feature of MO25C pig meat is its juiciness (marbling), which reduces drip loss during the manufacture of cured products. It also has superior taste, tenderness and colour, being a little redder than other lines.

The MO25C can be used with the male line of Embrapa, the MS115. Known as a 'light hog', the MS115 has the genetic potential for carcass meat above 62 per cent. It has been developed to meet the needs of the Brazilian market and is free of the halothane gene, which confers more resistance to stress and produces meat of a higher quality.

Another innovation at the Pork Expo is the Salmonelômetro. The software was created by Embrapa to introduced technicians and producers to the risk factors for Salmonella on pig farms.

Based on the answers to a series of questions, the Salmonelômetro gives an indication of the likely status of the farm and which risk factors should be addressed. The tool can also be accessed online at sthat need to be corrected arises.

The visitor will receive technical information on salmonella issue. The Salmonelômetro can also be accessed on the Internet at www.embrapa.br/suinos-e-aves.

Other issues highlighted at the booth of Embrapa in Pork Expo is the PED epidemic, which has caused losses through high piglet mortality to the US swine industry.

Although PED poses no threat to consumer health or restrictions on international trade in pork, the virus poses a potential danger to the Brazilian pig sector. There are reports of the virus in South America - Peru and Colombia - and so Embrapa, agribusinesses, producers and laboratories have formed a committee that has drafted a contingency plan and includes biosecurity measures for the Brazilian industry.

Embrapa Swine and Poultry maintains a website with information about the PED data on how it affected the US swine biosecurity information and publications on the topic. All materials are free and can be accessed at www.cnpsa.embrapa.br/pedv/pedv.php.

The Association is also offering visitors to Pork Expo guidance on the welfare of pigs during transport, care that bring better working conditions on farms and economic benefits.

Furthermore, CIAS (Central Intelligence Poultry and Pork) – available at www.cnpsa.embrapa.br/cias – publishes monthly data on production costs for poultry and pigs (and ICPFrango ICPSuíno) and cost of production in 11 of the major producing states of Brazil. Granucalc is software on feeding poultry and pigs, available for computers and smartphones and tablets based on the Android operating system.