 News from the National
Pork Board
National Pork Board 2008
Plan of Work underway
National Pork Board program committees and producers at-large
met in Omaha, Nebraska, in September to plan for the 2008 fiscal
year. The board of directors had previously determined the five
critical issues for the industry and desired outcomes that would
indicate success.
The five critical issues for 2008 are:
1. The competitive advantage for US pork.
2. The safeguard and expansion of international markets.
3. Domestic pork expenditures.
4. The trust and image of the industry and its products.
5. The development of human capital.
At the meeting, committee members and producers at-large ranked
the desired outcomes and developed tactics to achieve them. The
National Pork Board directors met on November 13 to 14 to finalize
the budget.
Canada enforces zero-tolerance of carbadox on imported
pork
Health Canada’s Veterinary Drugs Directorate issued a
stop-sale order for carbadox in 2001, and in 2004, banned the legal
sale of carbadox products in that country. A zero tolerance for
violative residues of carbadox products is now to be enforced by
Canada on imported pork products.
The US and Canada use different testing methods to detect
carbadox residues in tissue. The US Food and Drug Administration is
conducting a study to compare the two tests. Until the study is
completed, Health Canada’s Veterinary Drugs Directorate has
issued an interim surveillance and testing program for
carbadox.
Canada will conduct a test-and-release inspection, at their
expense, at the border. In turn, the Food Safety and Inspection
Service (FSIS) will continue to test for carbadox as planned in the
National Residue Program. The FSIS has agreed to report and stop
all shipments to Canada of products with occurrences of the
following:
- Positive findings: > 0.03 ppm from liver (violative residues
according to US standards), and
- Non-violative findings: 0.015 to 0.03 ppm from liver
(non-violative according to US standards, but product not shippable
to Canada).
Talking to your client- suggested talking points
Producers are being reminded to follow PQA Plus Good Production
Practices when administering carbadox to pigs, specifically:
- Follow the product manufacturer’s instructions for
mixing, administration, and withdrawal.
- Identify all animals and maintain accurate records of all
animals receiving carbadox to ensure that withdrawal times are
completed before animals are marketed for human consumption.
- Make sure all feeders, mixers, and other equipment are
completely purged and cleaned between batches of feed to avoid
cross-contamination of feed.
- Empty feeders and bins between groups of animals to ensure
animals that are not supposed to receive carbadox do not have
access to it.
- Clearly identify all animal-health products, including
carbadox, and all feeds and medicated feeds.
- Communicate to all of your workers the importance of following
appropriate withdrawal times for carbadox and all other animal
health products.
- Contact the herd veterinarian if you have questions about
carbadox, its use or withdrawal.
Producers can visit http://www.pork.org/Producers/JapanMRL.aspx for
information about withdrawal periods that satisfy the domestic and
Japanese markets for many animal-health products. Producers should
follow label instructions if a specific product’s guidelines
are not provided.
For more information, contact the Pork Checkoff at
800-456-PORK.
Improved PRRS database allows researchers to share
information
The National Pork Board, through the PRRS Initiative, has funded
a PRRS virus open reading frame (ORF) 5 database consisting of PRRS
virus ORF5 nucleotide sequence data generated by diagnostic
laboratories on field samples. The database is accessible at
http://prrsv.ahc.umn.edu/. Participating diagnostic
laboratories have entered field data including the date and
state-country, year of isolation, the nucleotide sequence, and
additional notes. The software allows the user to compare the
sequence with others in the database in several formats for further
analysis.
The database has allowed the research community and
veterinarians to understand the variability of the ORF5 sequence
between and within the European and North American-like isolates.
The information is useful in determining where and when an isolate
is first sequenced, when it was last found, and how unique it is.
The information could be helpful in vaccine targeting, drug design,
and selection. Field observations, such as respiratory or
reproductive disease and severity of signs, prior exposure, and
more detailed geographical location of the outbreak, would give
veterinarians and producers better tools to manage the disease.
For more information on the PRRS database, contact Pam Zaabel at
PZaabel@pork.org or at
515-223 2791.
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