In light of the current outbreak of African Swine Fever in Africa, Asia, and parts of Europe, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has updated permit requirements for livestock feeds. This information is crucial for importers to reduce the spread of this deadly virus to Canada.
African swine fever (ASF) can spread through contaminated feed or feed ingredients. If ASF is circulating in a given country, imported feed from that location could sicken livestock in another country. Producers should only buy swine feed from trusted sources that have proper biosecurity controls. Producers and feed manufacturers who purchase ingredients to produce pig feed should know the origin of the ingredients.
Producers and feed importers should verify that feed ingredients were produced and handled using proper biosecurity measures. Feed importers should be able to provide feed purchasers with information on how the ingredients were produced and handled before to entry into Canada.
The importation of livestock feeds may be subject to further import conditions administered and enforced by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Depending on the origin and type of product being imported, an additional CFIA plant health import permit may be required, or there may be restrictions in place that would prohibit the importation of the plant or plant product entirely, regardless of end use.
Importers are responsible for ensuring that the products they import into Canada comply with the requirements of all applicable Canadian legislation including requirements covered by the Health of Animals Act, Feeds Act and Plant Protection Act and their respective regulations.
The ASF document has been updated in the following areas:
1) Addition of the reference to the Orders for:
“Order Amending the Order Imposing Conditions in Relation to Secondary Control Zones in Respect of African Swine Fever – addition of clarity to paragraph 12”
“Order Amending the Order Imposing Conditions in Relation to Secondary Control Zones in Respect of African Swine Fever – removal of Belgium”
“Order Amending the Order Imposing Conditions in Relation to Secondary Control Zones in Respect of African Swine Fever – addition of Republic of North Macedonia”
“Order Amending the Order Imposing Conditions in Relation to Secondary Control Zones in Respect of African Swine Fever – addition of Thailand”
2) Changes made to Paragraph 12, the removal of Belgium from Schedule 1 of the Order, and the addition of the Republic of North Macedonia and Thailand to Schedule 2 of the Order.
Here are import requirements for plant-based feed ingredients imported for use in livestock feed
3) Updates to section 5.1.1 (with respect to Paragraph 12 of the Order), the removal of Belgium from Appendix 3.1, the addition of the Republic of North Macedonia and Thailand to Appendix 3.2, and updates to Appendix 4 in order to provide clarity on the import requirements.
It is the responsibility of all importers to be aware of the applicable import requirements for any products they wish to bring into Canada and to ensure that each shipment meets those requirements when it arrives at the Canadian border. The Automated Import Reference System (AIRS) shows the import requirements for the CFIA regulated commodities.