The American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) has submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regarding recently proposed amendments to regulations governing the importation of uncooked pork and pork products from regions of Mexico positive for classical swine fever (CSF).
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has proposed changing the import rule to allow for the importation of uncooked pork from CSF-free regions. Pork imports would have to be further processed in regions where CSF is known to exist.
Current regulations allow for uncooked pork and pork products to be imported only from CSF-free regions.
In its comments, the AASV opposed the proposal as presented due to the lack of a thorough risk assessment, estimating both the additional risk posed to the health of the U.S. swine herd and the overall benefit afforded the industry.
ASV also suggested additional safeguards should be enacted to ensure the product is not exposed to CSF virus during processing or transport. One such safeguard involves establishing a protocol for product testing to verify the absence of CSF prior to distribution.