NPPC Looking for Direction on USDA’s New PED Tracking Rules

Apr 28, 2014

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) says it’s seeking more information about the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) reporting guidelines to monitor the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) virus.

The USDA announced that it would be implementing a new policy requiring mandatory reporting of PED cases.

In addition to reporting efforts, the USDA’s Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford says that the industry needs to continue to keep up with its on-farm efforts to keep the disease from spreading further.

Reporting cases of PED does not mean stopping the movement of pigs, but the USDA’s main goal is to be able to work with producers and their attending veterinarians to make sure that the best animal care practices are being maintained to slow the spread the disease.

While the USDA announced its new reporting requirements, the industry is still awaiting more details on how to implement the rules. NPPC’s Chief Veterinarian Dr. Liz Wagstrom calls the USDA’s approach “encouraging” but says the industry is concerned about the implementation of the program and ramifications of reporting a positive case of the virus.

More details about the tracking program are expected within the next two to three weeks.

Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.