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Biosecurity Programs Are an Important Tool for Reducing the Likelihood That Pathogens Will Be Introduced Into the Feed Chain

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Biosecurity Programs Are an Important Tool for Reducing the Likelihood That Pathogens Will Be Introduced Into the Feed Chain DEVELOPING BIOSECURITY PRACTICES FOR FEED & INGREDIENT MANUFACTURING BIOSECURITY American Feed Industry Association 2101 Wilson Blvd., Suite 810 Arlington, VA 22201 afia.org JANUARY 2019 Guidance for Developing Biosecurity Practices for Feed and Ingredient Manufacturing PURPOSE The purpose of this guidance document is to provide feed and ingredient manufacturers with recommendations that may be used to develop a biosecurity plan to control the potential spread of animal diseases through feed and feed ingredients. Each facility, location or business should develop a biosecurity plan based on the potential hazards and risks of occurrence within their processes. Procedures should be developed to ensure the plan is implemented and remains effective as situations change. There are numerous hazards that feed and ingredient manufacturers need to control or prevent, including physical, chemical and biological hazards. The scope of this guidance document is focused on the development of biosecurity practices for feed and ingredient manufacturers to control biological hazards that may contribute to the spread of animal diseases, both foreign and domestic. Comments and suggestions are welcome. Correspondence should be sent to the American Feed Industry Association, 2101 Wilson Blvd., Suite 810, Arlington, VA 22201, [email protected]. INTRODUCTION Controlling diseases associated with animal production is important for protecting animal and human health, preventing economic hardship and protecting the livelihoods of our animal agriculture customers. In addition to the more common endemic disease threats to livestock production, numerous foreign animal diseases have been identified at the global level. Little evidence is currently available to demonstrate feed is commonly associated with transmission of foreign animal diseases into the United States, but preventing the entry and transmission of these diseases should be a goal for any biosecurity program (FAO, 2010, APHIS Animal Diseases, 2018). The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) maintains information about animal diseases on its website for animal disease. The National Animal Health Reporting System (NAHRS) provides data from chief state animal health officials on the presence of confirmed World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) reportable diseases in the U.S. If a reportable disease is found in the U.S., there are specific requirements for the facility impacted. Contacts, processes and procedures may be found within the NAHRS Operational Manual. Today, due to ever-increasing global travel and international trade of feed ingredients, the concerns for biosecurity and the spread of animal diseases, particularly those of foreign origin, are high within animal agriculture. Biosecurity programs are an important tool for reducing the likelihood that pathogens will be introduced into the feed chain. Guidelines for developing a biosecurity plan for foreign animal diseases are available from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS 2016). In order for a biosecurity plan to be successful, facilities must control the spread of animal disease through feed or feed ingredients. Important steps include: 1) Identify reasonably foreseeable animal disease hazards; 2) Assess the risks of those potential hazards and develop a biosecurity plan according to the risk assessment process outlined below; 1 Guidance for Developing Biosecurity Practices for Feed and Ingredient Manufacturing 3) Communicate the biosecurity plan to facility personnel, including encouraging management commitment as well as education and training of personnel to implement the plan; and 4) Verify the plan’s implementation through effective corrective actions for deviations to ensure the degree of biosecurity desired. 2 Purpose ................................................................................... 1 Introduction ........................................................................... 1 Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment ...................... 4 Manufacturing Processes ............................................. 4 Animal Feed Contamination ......................................... 5 Recommended Biosecurity Practices ................................ 6 Supplier Verification ...................................................... 6 Ingredient Receiving ..................................................... 7 Employees, Visitors and Drivers .................................. 9 Manufacturing Area ....................................................... 10 Shipment of Customer Deliveries ............................... 11 Education and Communication ........................................... 13 Management Commitment ........................................... 13 Education and Training ................................................. 13 Continuous Improvement ............................................. 13 Communication .............................................................. 14 Summary ................................................................................ 15 Reference Citations ............................................................... 16 References for More Information ........................................ 17 Acknowledgements .............................................................. 20 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE Guidance for Developing Biosecurity Practices for Feed and Ingredient Manufacturing HAZARD IDENTIFICATION AND RISK ASSESSMENT The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) requires facilities to develop and a maintain food safety plan that assesses reasonably foreseeable hazards and implements controls to prevent or minimize the impact of such hazards as appropriate. Every facility is different and a biosecurity plan to control the spread of animal disease must be specific for the location. A team should be created to ensure the appropriate procedures and processes are implemented. Responsibilities of the team include the following: • Identifying areas of reasonably foreseeable hazards for the spread of animal diseases; • Developing a site-specific biosecurity plan for preventing animal diseases; • Increasing biosecurity awareness and ensuring compliance with policies; • Ensuring proper training is maintained and completed; and • Keeping management informed of potential animal disease risks and updating the biosecurity awareness plan as needed. Manufacturing Processes: Feed contamination with a disease-causing pathogen can be introduced at numerous points throughout the manufacturing process, including through the use of contaminated ingredients, during receiving at the feed manufacturing site, cross-contamination within the feed manufacturing facility, and by delivery vehicles (both incoming and outgoing) and delivery personnel. Potential hazards should be identified, evaluated and prioritized. Appropriate risk mitigation steps should be implemented. A well-designed and maintained animal food safety plan, when adhered to, will help mitigate disease risks and increase biosecurity. An overview of potential sources of animal disease contamination within the feed and ingredient manufacturing processes is shown in Figure 1. The process flow is divided into pre- manufacturing, manufacturing and post-manufacturing steps. FIGURE 1. MANUFACTURING PROCESS FLOW CHART FOR FEED AND INGREDIENTS PRE-MANUFACTURING MANUFACTURING POST-MANUFACTURING Deliveries Receiving Processing Storage Packaging Storage Loading Customer Deliveries Raw Materials Grinding Grinding Finished Product Bag Bag Blending Delivery Location Animal Exposure Sizing Blending Intermediate Tote Tote Equipment Animal Exposure Storage Bag Container Container Traffic Exposure Traffic Exposure Biological or Personnel Equipment Chemical Bulk Truck Truck Personnel Synthesis Transfer Tote Bin or Bulk Bin or Bulk Transfer Equipment Cooking Rail Rail Equipment Environment TRANSPORT Extruding TRANSPORT Environment Pelleting Drying Personnel Environment or Air Transfer or Movement within System 4 Guidance for Developing Biosecurity Practices for Feed and Ingredient Manufacturing Sources of potential hazards are listed under each processing step. For pre-manufacturing, the potential exposure of raw materials to animal disease pathogens should be assessed. This includes the potential for pathogen exposure or animal disease contamination during harvest, further processing, shipment and storage of ingredients. Supplier verification programs should be incorporated into the hazard analysis process to assure the feed manufacturer that processes are in place to prevent pathogen contamination of purchased ingredients. An effective supplier verification program will minimize the risks from animal diseases entering the manufacturing processes. During post-manufacturing, risks of exposure to pathogens are primarily from contaminated transfer equipment, vehicles, storage equipment and personnel. These processes may or may not be under the control of the feed manufacturer (e.g., customer pick-up or third-party feed delivery). Animal Feed Contamination: As outlined by APHIS (2011), there are numerous routes of pathogen transmission, which may vary depending on the specific diseases. These include the following: • Airborne transmission; • Animal manure and soiled bedding. • Direct animal to animal contact; • Semen; • Human contact, including dirty boots, clothing or hands; zoonotic diseases (those that are communicable between animals and humans) can also be included in this group; • Vehicles and other fomites; • Vectors, including
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