Risk Assessment of Porcine-origin Feed Ingredients as PEDV Transmission Vehicles

October 21, 2015 — 

The objective was to assess the likelihood that porcine-origin feed ingredients may transmit PEDV. The assessment included rendered ingredients, ingredients derived through spray drying porcine blood and those derived by hydrolyzing porcine tissues. The project was coordinated by a multidisciplinary group with expertise in swine health and epidemiology, swine nutrition, food-safety risk analysis and food engineering. A stakeholder working group, including technical experts from the animal-feed and swine industries assisted with information collection and insight into feed-processing facilities and operations. Data on thermal inactivation of PEDV indicate that risk of virus surviving the rendering and hydrolysis processes (peptone production) are negligible. Time and temperature profiles used in spray-drying are much less severe, and therefore, the possibility of virus survival is greater if non-thermal mechanisms are ignored. In line with recently adopted practices, the effect of post-processing storage of spray-dried plasma at room temperature (68 to 72 degrees F) for two weeks was estimated to achieve additional PEDV inactivation. The project helped identify several data gaps. The remaining uncertainty could be addressed with better knowledge of 1) viral inactivation by spray drying, 2) the infectious dose of PEDV and 3) the relationship between measures of virus RNA and infective dose.

Principal Researcher: Dr. Peter Davies, University of Minnesota

Key Points:

• The risk of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) surviving prolonged high temperatures of rendering and hydrolyzed-protein processes is negligible.
• Probability of PEDV surviving the spray-drying process and current commercial storage periods is extremely small.
• Potential post-processing routes of ingredient cross contamination were identified, but most were deemed negligible to low risk.

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