[1] In several countries activities related to VPH are organized by the chief veterinary officer.
Conventionally veterinary public health as a topic covers the following areas: It is desirable to consider food production as a chain, with animals reared on the farm (pre-harvest) then going for primary processing (harvest), secondary processing and distribution followed by final preparation (all post-harvest).
Veterinary public health concerns all aspects of food production chain from controlling epidemic diseases that may impact on agriculture, to ensuring slaughter is conducted safely and humanely, to informing the public on safe ways to store and cook hamburgers.
In addition, practising vets will also produce potential environmental contaminants in the form of used needles, syringes, animal tissue and other clinical waste.
This aspect of veterinary public health deals with a number of ethical issues.