Thursday, December 27, 2018

Swine fever virus found in feed

African swine fever virus has been detected in some protein powders used as livestock feed.

The powders include pork blood. In September China banned the use of pork remains in feeds to stop the spread of the disease which has now hit 92 herds.

The raw material for the contaminated protein products came from 12 slaughterhouses in Tianjin, Reuters reported.

The protein products were created by a subsidiary of Tianjin Baodi Agri & Tech Co Ltd., which has operations ranging from hog breeding and cooked meat production to biochemical production, Reuters reported.

The customs administration has issued an alert, valid for six months, to strengthen ASF virus testing in exports of such products and urged farms in Hong Kong and Macau to tighten their checks on animal feed imports.

Canadians have been advised to be on high alert and strict biosecurity to prevent the disease from entering Canada.