Glacier FarmMedia – Plant-based feed ingredients coming into Canada from Taiwan will face stricter rules after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced changes to its African swine fever (ASF) import permit requirements Nov. 3
Taiwan has been added to the agency’s list of countries where regionalization policy — the zoning plans where a certain infected area can be designated as a contained zone, while other areas of the country continue business — for animal disease is not recognized. Without that recognition, the CFIA considers the entire country affected by ASF when an incident of the disease occurs.
The over-60 country list primarily includes several countries in Africa, south and southeast Asia, a handful in eastern Europe plus China and Russia.
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WHY IT MATTERS: Industry and the Canadian government have spent considerable effort to prevent the deadly pig disease, which in past years has devastated Asian hog sectors, from making its way to Canada.
Under the new rules, plant-based feed ingredients from Taiwan will face heavier documentation requirements and prevention hoops to jump though. Ingredients will require an application with the country of origin clearly defined and a completed CFIA facility questionnaire.
The CFIA says the purpose of this questionnaire is to provide facilities a means by which they can demonstrate how they are limiting risk of ASF transmission through these products, which will a) be subject to heat processing prior to arrival in Canada or b) become subject to mitigation measures after arrival in Canada.
According to the agency, the concept of zoning was developed to limit trade impacts to those parts of the country where disease does not exist. Zoning is one of the early actions to be taken if there is an incursion of ASF into Canada.
