World meat industry news

Rosselkhoznadzor assesses the situation with African swine fever (ASF) in Russia as unfavorable, but controlled. Nikita Lebedev, adviser to the head of the department, told reporters about this.

"In Russia, the situation with ASF remains unfavorable, but at the same time controlled. Over the past 2022, 141 outbreaks of the disease were registered, of which 68 were in the domestic pig population, which is about two times less than in 2021," - he said.

At the same time, Lebedev noted that the loss in the number of animals in 2022 is many times lower. He explained that the main problem in 2021 was the shadow sale of large volumes of gray pork and food waste through online trading platforms, social networks and instant messengers. “According to the results of investigations of outbreaks, most of them were associated with the use in animal feed of food waste purchased from various social institutions (schools, canteens, hospitals and cafes) or through Internet sites. The reaction to this was a legislative ban on feeding pigs food waste, which comes into force on March 1, 2023," the adviser to the head of the department explained.

He added that the territorial departments of the Rosselkhoznadzor and law enforcement agencies carried out a set of measures aimed at curbing the activities of private and legal entities engaged in illegal sales, as well as the legalization of meat products and food waste. According to him, the departmental information system Vetis, as well as territorial monitoring groups of the Rosselkhoznadzor, which monitor social networks and online trading platforms, play the main role in suppressing trade and legalizing meat products of unknown origin.

"Despite certain successes, we must by no means lower our vigilance," Lebedev said. He explained that the widespread occurrence of ASF in the wild boar population, their gradual adaptation to the virus, the use of ineffective and dangerous vaccines, as well as the activities of unscrupulous entrepreneurs create additional risks for the control and prevention of the disease worldwide and determine the observed dynamics of the spread of the infection, including due to the reverse introduction of the virus to previously prosperous areas.

ASF is a viral disease that affects wild boars and domestic pigs. In its acute form, the disease kills 100% of affected animals. For humans, the disease is not dangerous. In Russia, the first outbreak of ASF was registered in 2007.