Yersinia enterocolitica is a zoonotic agent responsible for gastroenteritis in temperate and cold climates, including France. Symptoms primarily include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal pain. Y. enterocolitica is transmitted via the fecal-oral route, and its main reservoirs are animals. Pigs are considered the primary reservoir of pathogenic biotypes for humans. Pigs do not develop clinical signs, but they carry Y. enterocolitica in their oral cavity, on the tongue and tonsils, as well as in the lymph nodes, and they excrete this pathogen in their feces. On farms, Y. enterocolitica can persist on the tonsils of pigs even after fecal excretion of the bacterium has ceased. At the slaughterhouse, removal of the tongue and tonsils along with the trachea-lung-liver-heart complex, followed by splitting the carcass and removing the head, promotes contamination of the carcass and organs. It is preferable to leave the head intact with the tongue inside until the end of the cutting process. Due to their psychrotrophic nature, pathogenic strains of Y. enterocolitica present in meat and by-products can multiply during storage. (R.A.)