News from the National Pork Board

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.