Canadian Western Truck Wash Certification Program Proves Successful

October 28, 2015 — 

An Alberta based swine veterinarian says the Canadian Western Truck Wash Certification Program is proving to be really successful. Pork organizations in the 4 western provinces have launched a new program to help facilities that offer swine transport washes improve their services. [Source: Farmscape for October 21, 2015]

Dr. Egan Brockhoff, with Prairie Swine Health Services, says veterinarians and transporters worked on the Canadian Western Truck Wash Certification Program last year through the fall and winter, then through the spring and summer launched the pilot and the pork organizations are now moving on to full implementation.

Clip-Dr. Egan Brockhoff-Prairie Swine Health Services:
This program covers two aspects. The first thing it covers off is the truck wash itself, so it's an audit of the truck wash. Is the truck wash able to provide a biosecure environment for a truck wash to occur and the second part of the program is a truck wash procedure audit. That involves an auditor like myself spending a day at the truck wash and watching the team on site wash a trailer from start to finish. The goal of that is really to ensure that the truck washes that do offer wash services are able to deliver a high quality truck wash that will essentially remove virus, whether it be PRRS virus or PED virus or any other of the unknown viruses from that transport. This has been a real successful program. We have been auditing truck washes across western Canada for the last 6 months and really it's been an opportunity for all the washes to understand what the industry requires for a minimum standard and it's really a fantastic opportunity for them to focus on their own biosecurity and training for their teams within.

Dr. Brockhoff says the program doesn't have to be limited to commercial truck washes and it's something in which individual producers who have their own farm wash sites can participate.