Pig’s blood and liver are valuable edible slaughter by-products which are also the major ingredients of offal-derived foodstuffs. The aim of the study was an evaluation of the occurrence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) and porcine adenovirus (pAdV) as an index virus of faecal contamination in pig’s blood and liver for human consumption. In total, 246 samples of retail liver (n = 100) and pooled pig’s blood (n = 146) were analysed for the presence of HEV and pAdV. Blood samples were individually collected from 1432 pigs at slaughter age. Viral genomic material, including RNA of a sample process control virus was isolated from food samples using a QIAamp® Viral RNA Mini Kit. Virus-specific IAC-controlled real-time PCR methods were used for detection of target viruses. HEV RNA was found in 6 (2.4%; 95% CI: 0.9–5.2) out of 246 samples of tested foodstuffs. The virus was detected in pig’s blood (3.4%; 95% CI: 1.1–7.8) and liver (1.0%; 95% CI: 0.0–5.0) with no significant differences observed in the frequency of its occurrence between the two by-products (t = 1.33; p = 0.182 > 0.05); however PAdV was detected more frequently in pig’s blood than in liver (t = 4.65; p = 0.000 < 0.05). The HEV strains belonged to the 3f and 3e subtype groups and the pAdV strains were assigned to serotype 5. PAdV was detected in pigs regardless of the farm size from which they originated. The number of animals raised on the farm (the farm size) had no influence on the occurrence of HEV or pAdV infections in pigs (F = 0.81, p = 0.447 > 0.05 for HEV; F = 0.42, p = 0.655 > 0.05 for pAdV). Although HEV was detected in pig’s offal only sporadically, consumers cannot treat its occurrence with disregard as it demonstrates that HEV-contaminated pig tissues can enter the food chain.

猪血和猪肝是宝贵的可食用屠宰副产品，也是内脏食品的主要成分。该研究的目的是评估戊型肝炎病毒 (HEV) 和猪腺病毒 (pAdV) 作为人类食用猪血液和肝脏中粪便污染的指标病毒的发生率。总共有 246 个零售肝脏样本 ( n  = 100) 和混合猪血 ( n = 146) 分析 HEV 和 pAdV 的存在。血样分别从 1432 头屠宰猪身上采集。使用 QIAamp® Viral RNA Mini Kit 从食品样品中分离病毒基因组材料，包括样品过程控制病毒的 RNA。病毒特异性 IAC 控制的实时 PCR 方法用于检测目标病毒。在 246 个测试食品样品中，有 6 个（2.4%；95% CI：0.9–5.2）发现了 HEV RNA。该病毒在猪的血液（3.4%；95% CI：1.1-7.8）和肝脏（1.0%；95% CI：0.0-5.0）中检测到，两种副产物的发生频率没有显着差异( t  = 1.33；p  = 0.182 > 0.05)；然而，在猪的血液中检测到 PAdV 的频率高于在肝脏中检测到的频率（t  = 4.65；p  = 0.000 < 0.05)。HEV 毒株属于 3f 和 3e 亚型组，pAdV 毒株属于血清型 5。PAdV 在猪中检测到，无论它们起源于猪场大小。农场饲养的动物数量（农场规模）对猪 HEV 或 pAdV 感染的发生没有影响（HEV 的F  = 0.81，p  = 0.447 > 0.05； pAdV 的F  = 0.42，p  = 0.655 > 0.05 ）。虽然在猪的内脏中只是偶尔检测到 HEV，但消费者不能忽视它的发生，因为这表明受 HEV 污染的猪组织可以进入食物链。