A good disease status and first-class animal welfare are among the greatest assets of Finnish meat production. Healthy and well-kept animals are the foundation for efficient, economical and safe domestic food production.

The health and good productivity of animals are primarily based on the professional skills of the producers, the right animal population, the good care of the animals, planned feeding and the management of conditions.

Atria actively supports producers in the development of sustainable primary production and animal welfare, and openly communicates these issues to its stakeholders.

Infectious animal diseases are systematically resisted in line with resistance programmes prepared in collaboration with Animal Welfare (ETT). Atria’s preventive health care work has been effective. As a result of decades of systematic work, we have completely eliminated porcine enzootic pneumonia, mange and dysentery from our pig chain.

Salmonella has been identified extremely rarely in Atria’s animal production chain, and any deviations are addressed immediately. All identified infections of salmonella are eliminated.

Safe meat contains no antibiotics

In Finland, production animals receive very little medication by international comparison – particularly antibiotics – and the occurrence of drug residues in food is extremely rare.

Antibiotics are not used for preventive treatment in Finland. Instead, diseased animals are treated with appropriate care, avoiding unnecessary medication. Drug dosages are determined by a veterinary officer who also oversees the pharmaceutical records and drug use at farms. The prudent use of antibiotics also reduces the emergence of strains of bacteria resistant to antibiotics.