The Canadian Swine Health Board’s National Biosecurity Standard has been officially recognized by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
As part of the 2012 Canadian Swine Health Forum, Canadian Swine Health Board Chair Florian Possberg was presented a letter from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency officially recognizing the Swine Health Board’s National Biosecurity Standard.
Dr. Jim Clark, the national manager animal welfare, biosecurity and assurance programs with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, says the national biosecurity standard provides producers a mechanism to prevent disease introduction into the farm, management movement and disease problems within the farm and prevent the exit of disease problems from the farm.
The biosecurity standards are generally developed over a two to three year time frame and they go through a variety of different stages in terms of producer consultation, consultation with provinces and territories, government authorities and things like that.
It’s a very intensive process and a very well laid out process.
It takes at least that long in order to do all the consultations necessary to develop an effective on farm biosecurity standard.
The recognition process is just there because CFIA has been given the authority from the AAFC to develop biosecurity standards.
Recognize that, within developing those standards there would be certain organizations or commodity groups that weren’t being developed by CFIA so a third party recognition process we would be put in place.
What ever standards we put in place to develop our own biosecurity standards we then apply to the third party development process.
The recognition letter is clearly an indication that the Canadian Swine Health Board has followed all of the steps necessary and has developed a product that meets the standard that all of the other standards are being applied.
Dr. Clark suggests money invested by governments and producers to develop effective preventive measures will be much more effective than trying to respond to problems as they occur.
