Academic Bibliography
https://biblio.ugent.be/
Ghent University Academic Bibliography2000-01-01T00:00+00:001monthlyUsing expert elicitation to abridge the welfare quality (R) protocol for monitoring the most adverse dairy cattle welfare impairments
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8735819
Tuyttens, Frankde Graaf, SophieAndreasen, Sine Norlanderde Boyer des Roches, Alicevan Eerdenburg, Frank J. C. M.Haskell, Marie J.Kirchner, Marlene K.Mounier, Luc.Kjosevski, MiroslavBijttebier, JoLauwers, LudwigVerbeke, WimAmpe, Bart2021The Welfare Quality (R) consortium has developed and proposed standard protocols for monitoring farm animal welfare. The uptake of the dairy cattle protocol has been below expectation, however, and it has been criticized for the variable quality of the welfare measures and for a limited number of measures having a disproportionally large effect on the integrated welfare categorization. Aiming for a wide uptake by the milk industry, we revised and simplified the Welfare Quality (R) protocol into a user-friendly tool for cost- and time-efficient on-farm monitoring of dairy cattle welfare with a minimal number of key animal-based measures that are aggregated into a continuous (and thus discriminative) welfare index (WI). The inevitable subjective decisions were based upon expert opinion, as considerable expertise about cattle welfare issues and about the interpretation, importance, and validity of the welfare measures was deemed essential. The WI is calculated as the sum of the severity score (i.e., how severely a welfare problem affects cow welfare) multiplied with the herd prevalence for each measure. The selection of measures (lameness, leanness, mortality, hairless patches, lesions/swellings, somatic cell count) and their severity scores were based on expert surveys (14-17 trained users of the Welfare Quality (R) cattle protocol). The prevalence of these welfare measures was assessed in 491 European herds. Experts allocated a welfare score (from 0 to 100) to 12 focus herds for which the prevalence of each welfare measure was benchmarked against all 491 herds. Quadratic models indicated a high correspondence between these subjective scores and the WI (R-2 = 0.91). The WI allows both numerical (0-100) as a qualitative ("not classified" to "excellent") evaluation of welfare. Although it is sensitive to those welfare issues that most adversely affect cattle welfare (as identified by EFSA), the WI should be accompanied with a disclaimer that lists adverse or favorable effects that cannot be detected adequately by the current selection of measures.application/pdfhttps://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8735819http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8735819http://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.634470https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8735819/file/8735883engCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessFRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCEISSN: 2297-1769Veterinary SciencesFARM-ANIMAL-WELFARELAYING HENSCOW WELFARESENSITIVITYPARAMETERSOPINIONSYSTEMSFLOCKSTIMEPIGSanimal welfaredairy cattleintegrationwelfare assessmentcompensationaggregationindexUsing expert elicitation to abridge the welfare quality (R) protocol for monitoring the most adverse dairy cattle welfare impairmentsjournalArticleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionBelgian consumers' attitude towards surgical castration and immunocastration of piglets
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/838882
Vanhonacker, FiliepVerbeke, WimTuyttens, Frank2009In the vast majority of European countries, piglets are surgically castrated in order to eliminate the risk of boor taint, an odour or flavour that can be present when pork from entire males is cooked. However, surgical castration is the subject of much debate and criticism as a result of its negative implications for piglets' welfare, integrity and health. At present, there is much ongoing research into potential alternatives, among them immunocastration. This practice involves the injection of a vaccine that inhibits the production of the hormones responsible for boor taint. Although satisfactory results are associated with immunocastration in terms of meat quality and production parameters, uncertainty concerning consumer acceptance is often put forward as a key element in the quest for a successful market introduction. This study focuses on consumer awareness of piglet castration and attitudes towards immunocastration by means of a web-based questionnaire among 225 Flemish consumers. We noted approximately 40% awareness of the routine practice of castrating piglets and this limited awareness is accompanied by a moderate level of concern regarding castration, especially in comparison to food safety and other pork production system-related animal welfare issues. Sixty percent of the sample had a general appreciation for the concept of immunocastration, as opposed to surgical castration. Informing consumers about the potential benefits and/or risks from immunocastration did not tend to have much effect in terms of altering their attitudes. Immunocastration did not emerge as a problem in terms of consumer acceptance: special attention should be paid to consumers' perception of pricing, food safety and the taste of the meat from immunocastrated pigs.application/pdfhttps://biblio.ugent.be/publication/838882http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-838882http://doi.org/10.1017/S0962728600000774https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/838882/file/6825025engNo license (in copyright)info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccessANIMAL WELFAREISSN: 0962-7286Agriculture and Food SciencesMALE PIGSvaccinationpigsINFORMATIONattitudeconsumer acceptabilityimmunocastrationanimal welfareINVOLVEMENTTAINTGNRHGROWTH-PERFORMANCEANIMAL-WELFAREFRESH MEATBOARSBelgian consumers' attitude towards surgical castration and immunocastration of pigletsjournalArticleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionSensitivity of the integrated Welfare Quality® scores to changing values of individual dairy cattle welfare measures
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8661385
de Graaf, SophieAmpe, BBuijs, SAndreasen, SNRoches, A De Boyer DesEerdenburg, FJCM vanHaskell, MJKirchner, MKMounier, LRadeski, MWinckler, CBijttebier, JLauwers, LudwigVerbeke, WimTuyttens, Frank2018The Welfare Quality((R)) (WQ) protocol for on-farm dairy cattle welfare assessment describes 33 measures and a step-wise method to integrate the outcomes into 12 criteria scores, grouped into four principle scores and into an overall welfare categorisation with four possible levels. The relative contribution of various welfare measures to the integrated scores has been contested. Using a European dataset (491 herds), we investigated: i) variation in sensitivity of integrated outcomes to extremely low and high values of measures, criteria and principles by replacing each actual value with minimum and maximum observed and theoretically possible values; and ii) the reasons for this variation in sensitivity. As intended by the WQ consortium, the sensitivity of integrated scores depends on: i) the observed value of the specific measures/criteria; ii) whether the change was positive/negative; and iii) the relative weight attributed to the measures. Additionally, two unintended factors of considerable influence appear to be side-effects of the complexity of the integration method. Namely: i) the number of measures integrated into criteria and principle scores; and ii) the aggregation method of the measures. Therefore, resource-based measures related to drinkers (which have been criticised with respect to their validity to assess absence of prolonged thirst), have a much larger influence on integrated scores than health-related measures such as 'mortality rate' and 'lameness score'. Hence, the integration method of the WQ protocol for dairy cattle should be revised to ensure that the relative contribution of the various welfare measures to the integrated scores more accurately reflect their relevance for dairy cattle welfare.application/pdfhttps://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8661385http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8661385http://doi.org/10.7120/09627286.27.2.157https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8661385/file/8661390engNo license (in copyright)info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccessANIMAL WELFAREISSN: 0962-7286Agriculture and Food Sciencesanimal-based welfare indicatorsanimal welfaredairy cattleintegrated welfare indexsensitivity analysisWelfare Quality((R))ANIMAL-WELFAREBROILER-CHICKENSPROTOCOLDEFINITIONTHIRSTSensitivity of the integrated Welfare Quality® scores to changing values of individual dairy cattle welfare measuresjournalArticleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionReplacement of nitrite in meat products by natural bioactive compounds results in reduced exposure to N-nitroso compounds : the PHYTOME project
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8751617
van Breda, Simone G.Mathijs, KarenPieters, Harm-JanSagi-Kiss, ViragKuhnle, Gunter G.Georgiadis, PanagiotisSaccani, GiovannaParolari, GiovanniVirgili, RobertaSinha, RashmiHemke, GertHung, Christine YungVerbeke, WimMasclee, Ad A.Vleugels-Simon, Carla B.van Bodegraven, Adriaan A.de Kok, Theo M.2021Scope It has been proposed that endogenously form N-nitroso compounds (NOCs) are partly responsible for the link between red meat consumption and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. As nitrite has been indicated as critical factor in the formation of NOCs, the impact of replacing the additive sodium nitrite (E250) by botanical extracts in the PHYTOME project is evaluated. Method and Results A human dietary intervention study is conducted in which healthy subjects consume 300 g of meat for 2 weeks, in subsequent order: conventional processed red meat, white meat, and processed red meat with standard or reduced levels of nitrite and added phytochemicals. Consumption of red meat products enriched with phytochemicals leads to a significant reduction in the faecal excretion of NOCs, as compared to traditionally processed red meat products. Gene expression changes identify cell proliferation as main affects molecular mechanism. High nitrate levels in drinking water in combination with processed red meat intake further stimulates NOC formation, an effect that could be mitigated by replacement of E250 by natural plant extracts. Conclusion These findings suggest that addition of natural extracts to conventionally processed red meat products may help to reduce CRC risk, which is mechanistically support by gene expression analyses.application/pdfhttps://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8751617http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8751617http://doi.org/10.1002/mnfr.202001214https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8751617/file/8751645engCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessMOLECULAR NUTRITION & FOOD RESEARCHISSN: 1613-4125ISSN: 1613-4133Agriculture and Food SciencesREPLICATION PROTEIN-AGENE-EXPRESSIONCOLORECTAL-CANCERRED MEATENDOGENOUS FORMATIONPROCESSED MEATDIETARY MEATDNA-DAMAGECOLONNITROSAMINEScolorectal cancer riskgene expressiongenotoxicityhuman dietaryintervention studyN-nitroso compoundsReplacement of nitrite in meat products by natural bioactive compounds results in reduced exposure to N-nitroso compounds : the PHYTOME projectjournalArticleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion