Options Available for Mitigating Risks of Viral Contamination of Feed Ingredients

The Swine Health Information Center says a variety of approaches are available to help ensure African Swine Fever does not enter North America through feed

by Bruce Cochrane – FarmScape Online

With the spread of African Swine Fever in China, feed suppliers are stepping up their focus on the potential for the virus to enter North America through imported feed.

Dr. Paul Sundberg, the Executive Director of the Swine Health Information Center, says there are multiple options for mitigating the risks.

“A holding time is another way that we could get to product safety”

“If the feed supplier, the ingredient supplier, can give adequate consideration to biosecure production and make sure that it’s shipped under biosecure conditions we know that it’s safe when it gets to the U.S. or Canada.

“Another thing may be the addition of a mitigant that could be added to that feed ingredient or the feed may decrease potential contamination.

“If a feed ingredient is coming from a non-biosecure facility or one that you just don’t know, which is probably the case, then the addition of a mitigant may decrease any potential contamination that could happen and that could also help protect us.

“The third way is that we know that, as viruses age and as time goes on, they decrease in their ability to cause infection, they degrade.

“We know how long it takes for a virus, for 50 percent of the virus to inactivate and, if you wait long enough, that you get down to the very very small amount of any virus that is left just simply by waiting.

“50 percent will be gone then another 50 percent will be gone etceteras, you’ll eventually get down there and that’s called the holding time.

“A holding time is another way that we could get to product safety and be able to import ingredients and assume with some confidence that they’re going to be safe.”

Dr. Sundberg suggests some combination of all three of those things may need to come into play.

Source: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada