African Swine Fever-Vitamin Supply Chain Workshop Notes

Abstract

An African swine fever-vitamin meal supply chain workshop involving key industry stakeholders was conducted on April 26, 2019 on the University of Minnesota St. Paul campus. Several vitamins are produced exclusively in China, while others are also primarily produced in China by a few manufacturers. Likewise, most vitamin manufacturers produce human and animal grade vitamins using the same quality assurance and controls that meet human grade standards. Most meeting participants consider the risk of ASF introduction from vitamins to be low but recognize that, if contaminated, vitamins can be a vehicle for virus introduction in the U.S. Several research and development priorities were identified including 1) develop a surrogate for ASF virus for monitoring processes that can inactivate the virus if it was present, 2) develop third party biosecurity modules and audits that can be implemented for feed ingredient manufacturers, 3) conduct a risk assessment of virus transmission throughout the vitamin supply chain, and 4) explore the use of blockchain technology for greater transparency and trust in the vitamin supply chain. Several education and communication priorities were also identified. A clear, transparent, and unified message is needed to educate the feed and pork industry to decrease confusion and suspicion of the perceived risks of virus transmission in the vitamin supply chain. Key components of this story include: 1) what is known about ASF virus characteristics, survival, and inactivation, 2) general description of raw materials, chemical and fermentation processes used to produce various vitamins, 3) current quality assurance programs, 4) packaging and transport, 5) potential for cross contamination from other porcine derived feed ingredients in multi-species feed mills, 6) approved sources vs. brokers and traders, and 7) holding times, origin of carriers, and premix manufacturing processes used before delivery to feed mills and commercial swine farms. Vitamin suppliers have industry wide standards for ingredient safety that minimize the opportunity for virus introduction. However, pork producers are responsible for knowing their suppliers and asking the right questions to screen potential suppliers that do not follow standards of safety. A comprehensive description of the entire vitamin supply chain is needed and a unified, accurate, and consistent message to the pork industry.