U.S. research has shown that imported feed ingredients, including soybean meal, could transport foreign animal diseases into North America.
However, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency isn’t especially worried about imports of soybeans or soybean meal from places such as China or India because those feed ingredients are unlikely to be infected with a hazardous virus.
“The high risk commodities would be (products) that would have come in contact with diseased animals or diseased tissue,” said Michelle Illing, director of the CFIA’s animal feed division.
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“Soybeans wouldn’t be our number one (vector) of concern for foreign animal diseases. It would be contaminated soils, animal products and animal byproducts (and) feed from animal origin.”
Scott Dee, a Minnesota veterinarian specializing in disease transmission, has concluded in an unpublished study that imported feed ingredients could transport foot-and-mouth disease from foreign countries to North America.
Betty Althouse, Saskatchewan’s chief veterinarian, said Dee’s work shows that pathogens can survive in imported feed and feed ingredients. Therefore, the CFIA needs to carefully assess the risk associated with imported feed.
“They need to be sure they are taking into account the newest science and newest research.”
Illing said she’s not convinced imported feed ingredients are a priority concern.
Canada does import soybeans and soybean meal from India and China, where foot-and-mouth and classical swine fever are commonplace.
However, Illing said that’s not a reason to ban feed imports.
“It’s not just the presence of a disease in another country that determines whether we import products from them. There are a lot of other things that go into our risk-based approach … which would include country assessment of the risk of introducing foreign animal diseases through those commodities,” she said.
“The question would be, does the feed come in contact with contaminated product?”
In the case of soybeans or soybean meal, it’s unclear how those products would be contaminated with a disease virus.
“I’m not sure why you pick those ingredients (to study). They don’t seem like high risk ingredients,” Illing said.
“The high risk material is the animal product and byproducts. And we regulate those and absolutely ban materials from countries … where those risks are unacceptable.”
Althouse said Canadian companies and livestock producers choose to import feed, both conventional and organic, because it’s cheaper.
“Sometimes organic feed ingredients are in shorter supply here and they are sourced from out of country.”
She said Canadian farmers and veterinarians should be talking about feed risk and steps to reduce the risk.
“What mitigations measures they can do?” she said. “What ingredients do they want to include or exclude from feed?”
Producers should be thinking about the risks and benefits of imported feed, but the CFIA should also be reviewing the risk of certain feed ingredients, Althouse added.
