Nowadays, it is no longer sufficient to have only isolated dimensions of quality in view. In addition, it is necessary to include all aspects of processing and product quality: environmental protection, animal health and welfare as well as quality features of the pork and monitoring of drug residues. There is therefore a demand for an integrated herd health programme in a quality management system of the whole pork production chain. Current pig production is widely distributed geographically and high specialized. As a result, available information is fragmented and the different enterprises like farms and slaughterhouses have no overall view of the pig production. A technical and an organisational integration between breeding, piglet producing, fattening, slaughtering and processing is required. It is necessary for the various parties involved that the information exchange within the different steps is possible. A concept for a chain-encompassing herd health programme also requires new analytical and systematic inspection ways in farms. Screening tests and point analysis systems for the determination of a farm index provide additional data as well as predictive and prescriptive information for the individual farmer as well as the adviser. here, CAQ is an instrument that helps to make professional analysis of data, detect and solve problems and make plans for the future. Therefore, the collection, storage and analysis of data from the following fields is stimulated: performance control, health control of the individual animal and the herd, control of risk factors in the environment of the animals, quality control of meat. For a few years several keystones of a HHP such as check-list systems, screening tests, mobile laboratories have been developed in the frame of pilote projects. Now, it is necessary to combine them efficiently and integrate them into a chain quality system.
