New Zealand pig farmers concerned over PRRS introduction

//15 Apr 2011
Pig farmers in New Zealand are not happy with the government's plans to relax biosecurity around pork imports.
New Zealand Pork is concerned that waste from imported pig meat could end up in the food chain for New Zealand livestock, and potentially spread a disease, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS).

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) biosecurity officials last year proposed rules that would allow imports of consumer-ready cuts of uncooked pork from Canada, Europe, Mexico and the United States, but were advised by a review panel to look at 29 deficiencies, including their import risk assessment.

But today MAF said it had issued updates to those four import health standards for pig meat, pig meat products and by-products which would effectively manage the risk of introducing PRRS to New Zealand. It said imports of fresh uncooked pork would be restricted to cuts smaller than 3kg that had the lymph nodes removed.

"The risk of PRRS introduction through pork imports will be effectively managed," MAF's deputy director-general for standards Carol Barnao said. "The likelihood of the virus being introduced through the importation of uncooked pork would be equivalent to an average of one outbreak per 1227 years."

But New Zealand Pork said that pigmeat currently imported from countries with PRRS must undergo treatment to deactivate the disease, and eliminating the treatment would open the door for transmission of the disease.

"Pork producers are doing it tough at present," New Zealand Pork chief executive Sam McIvor said. Farmers were "extremely concerned about the risks from the proposed relaxing of biosecurity standards ". Farmers who were already making changes to meet tougher new pig welfare standards did not need to be undermined by the potential for new and exotic diseases "introduced as a result of short-sighted legislation".

[Source: 3news.co.nz]