Advancing pig welfare on Brazilian swine farms using a validated and credible audit tool

• Grant number: 25/03299-4
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Visiting Researcher Grant - International
• Start date: August 15, 2025
• End date: May 14, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Cesar Augusto Pospissil Garbossa
• Grantee: Cesar Augusto Pospissil Garbossa
• Visiting researcher: Monique Danielle Pairis-Garcia
• Visiting researcher institution: North Carolina State University (NC State), United States
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Brazil is the fourth-largest global producer of pork, with an estimated herd of 43 million pigs distributed across 30,000 farms. Pork production in the country is experiencing continuous growth, with a projected increase of 6.6% by 2025. However, animal protein production is no longer seen solely as a means of providing food but also as an activity that must be carried out ethically and sustainably. Consumer demand for transparency and animal welfare practices has pressured retailers and producers to adopt stricter standards. In 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food Supply (MAPA) established guidelines for good management and animal welfare practices on commercial pig farms (Normative Instruction No. 113). Despite this, Brazil still lacks a nationally recognized and publicly available audit tool to ensure compliance with these standards. The main objective of this project is to develop, validate, and implement a nationally recognized audit and certification program to assess pig welfare and pre-harvest food safety on Brazilian farms. The project will be carried out in three main stages. The first stage, to be conducted between August and December 2025, involves the development of a reliable and verifiable audit tool aligned with Brazilian legislation and industry guidelines. The tool will be based on scientific, ethical, and economic evidence, ensuring a balanced and sustainable approach. The audit will be divided into two main sections: animal welfare and pre-harvest food safety. The animal welfare section will include resource-based measures, such as environmental condition assessments, management-based measures, such as verification of training protocols, and animal-based measures, such as body condition scoring and the presence of lesions. Animal-based measures will carry greater weight in the scoring, reflecting their importance as direct indicators of welfare. The pre-harvest food safety section will focus on biosecurity, rodent control, and proper medication use, representing approximately 10% of the total audit score. The second stage, planned for December 2025 to March 2026, involves refining the tool through on-farm testing. A steering committee composed of industry representatives will be formed to provide feedback and support the identification of farms for testing. The tool will be tested on farms of varying sizes and production systems in the state of São Paulo, ensuring its applicability across diverse contexts. Testing will include reviewing standard operating procedures, interviewing caretakers, and evaluating health and management records. The final stage, scheduled for April and May 2026, consists of conducting a "Train the Trainer" workshop for auditors. The training will be held at the USP campus in Pirassununga and will include theoretical and practical sessions, case studies, and visits to the university's swine production unit. Participants will be evaluated through a comprehensive exam, with a minimum passing score of 80% for certification. Upon completion, certified auditors will receive guidance materials to replicate the training within their organizations. This project aims to address a critical gap in the Brazilian swine industry by providing a credible and validated audit tool that enables producers to verify compliance with animal welfare and food safety standards. The implementation of this tool will not only ensure access to global markets but also promote continuous improvement in production practices, aligning with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By training auditors and promoting transparency, the project seeks to strengthen consumer trust and ensure the sustainability of the Brazilian swine industry. The project timeline includes the development of the audit tool between August and December 2025, refinement and on-farm testing between December 2025 and March 2026, and the auditor training workshop in April and May 2026. (AU)