Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 8/8/17



USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing to recognize Mexico as free of classical swine fever (CSF), withdrawing an earlier proposal to recognize Mexico as a low-risk CSF region.

Since USDA proposed the low-risk recognition in July 2014, the World Organization for Animal Health recognized Mexico as CSF-free. As a result, Mexico’s government requested that APHIS suspend its rulemaking and instead continue evaluating Mexico’s CSF status. APHIS reopened its evaluation and conducted a site visit in 2015.

Based on the 2015 site visit report, along with updated surveillance data and additional information submitted by Mexico’s government, APHIS determined that current conditions support CSF-free recognition for all of Mexico.

This newly proposed action would relieve CSF-specific restrictions on the importation of pork and pork products from Mexico, while continuing to protect the United States against this serious swine disease.

The agency noted, however, that other animal health concerns related to the import of live swine and swine genetics have not yet been evaluated and will still need to be addressed before live swine and swine genetics may be imported from Mexico.

APHIS is inviting public comments on the evaluation for 60 days. APHIS will then review and consider the comments received and make a final determination, which will be published in a later Federal Register notice.

This evaluation will be available for public comment on Tuesday and can be viewed online here.

Written comments can also be submitted through the mail: Docket No. APHIS-2016-0038, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.

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