Understanding the vitamin supply chain and relative risk of transmission of foreign animal diseases

The U.S. pork industry is dependent on vitamins manufactured in China because there are limited, and in some cases, there are no other country of origin options to meet industry volume demands. Initial studies have provided evidence that the African Swine Fever virus (ASFv) can survive in choline chloride, but not vitamin D3. However, it is unknown if this virus can survive in other vitamins. The risk of ASFv or other Foreign Animal Diseases (FAD) being introduced from China into the U.S. through vitamin imports appears to be low, but the impact of introduction is high. Vitamin manufacturing involves many highly technical chemical or fermentation processes that utilize commonly accepted quality control certification schemes and sanitary processes to meet human food grade, and often pharmaceutical standards in the U.S. and E.U. Although gelatin used in manufacturing vitamin A and D3 originates from pigskin, there appears to be sufficient thermal treatments used in extracting, concentrating, and sterilizing gelatin to inactivate pathogens. Some vitamin suppliers visit and audit corn cob suppliers for choline chloride production to verify that there is a killing step in corn cob carrier production. Only clean, unused, sealed containers and materials (e.g. pallets) are used for packaging and transporting vitamins to the U.S., usually under hazardous materials shipping standards due to high purity. All damaged containers and packages containing vitamins during transport are destroyed and not used in manufacturing swine feeds. Once purified vitamins arrive in the U.S., they are distributed to U.S. vitamin premix manufacturers for blending with carriers. Only carriers produced in North America are used by the U.S. vitamin premix manufacturers to minimize the risk of cross-contamination. However, there are a few unconventional brokers and traders that may import vitamins from China and market them using limited if any biosecurity and quality assurance control procedures. Obtaining vitamins and premixes from these entities increases the risk of ASFv introduction. Pork producers are responsible for selecting reputable suppliers of all feed ingredients by asking appropriate questions to avoid potential suppliers that do not follow standards of feed safety. Vitamins are unique compared to other feed ingredients because they are sensitive to high heat treatment and pH, which can substantially reduce their nutritional value if these types of virus mitigation treatments are applied.Swine Health Information Center, Ames, I

The occurrence and concentration of mycotoxins in U.S. distillers dried grains with solubles

To provide a scientific sound assessment of the prevalence and levels of mycotoxins in U.S. distillers' dried grains with solubles (DDGS), we measured mainly aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol, fumonisins, T-2 toxin, and zearalenone in 235 DDGS samples collected from 20 ethanol plants in the midwestern United States and 23 export shipping containers from 2006 to 2008 using stateof-the-art analytical methodologies. The results suggested that (1) none of the samples contained aflatoxins or deoxynivalenol levels higher than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines for use in animal feed; (2) no more than 10% of the samples contained fumonisin levels higher than the recommendation for feeding equids and rabbits, and the rest of the samples contained fumonisins lower than FDA guidelines for use in animal feed; (3) none of the samples contained T-2 toxins higher than the detection limit, and no FDA guidance levels are available for T-2 toxins; (4) most samples contained zearalenone levels lower than the detection limit, and no FDA guidance levels are available for zearalenone; and (5) the containers used for export shipping of DDGS did not seem to contribute to mycotoxin production. This study was based on representative DDGS samples from the U.S. ethanol industry, and the data were collected using reference methods. This study provided a comprehensive and scientifically sound assessment of the occurrence and levels of mycotoxins in DDGS from the U.S. ethanol industry

Solid-state fermentation of Pleurotus ostreatus to improve the nutritional profile of mechanically-fractionated canola meal

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Guidelines for developing a risk-based plan to mitigate virus transmission from imported feed ingredients

There is increasing concern regarding the risk of swine disease transmission via feed ingredients, whether imported or domestically produced. This risk may be reduced in the feed ingredient supply chain by identifying and implementing preventive controls (supply chain, sanitation, transportation, and process) at different steps of the chain. The objective of this study was to develop a practical guide to help feed ingredient suppliers and buyers to safely manufacture, package, transport, and use feed ingredients in swine feeding programs. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) provides the basis of this study because these regulations require proactive risk-based preventive control processes that are applied in the food supply chain to prevent or reduce the risk of hazards from being present in the final product. Using this conceptual framework, implementation of preventive controls in the feed production chain can control or decrease the potential introduction of foreign animal viruses through feed ingredients into the U.S. A decision tree was developed as a first step in identifying preventive controls and potential high-risk feed ingredient sourcing scenarios. A case-study using Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDV) and the corresponding decision tree was developed as an illustration on how to use this new approach. Although this approach is based on swine viral diseases, it can serve as a template for other pathogenic viruses and species.Swine Health Information Center, Ames, I

African Swine Fever-Vitamin Supply Chain Workshop Notes

An African swine fever-vitamin meal supply chain workshop involving key industry stakeholders was conducted on April 26, 2019 on the University of Minnesota St. Paul campus. Several vitamins are produced exclusively in China, while others are also primarily produced in China by a few manufacturers. Likewise, most vitamin manufacturers produce human and animal grade vitamins using the same quality assurance and controls that meet human grade standards. Most meeting participants consider the risk of ASF introduction from vitamins to be low but recognize that, if contaminated, vitamins can be a vehicle for virus introduction in the U.S. Several research and development priorities were identified including 1) develop a surrogate for ASF virus for monitoring processes that can inactivate the virus if it was present, 2) develop third party biosecurity modules and audits that can be implemented for feed ingredient manufacturers, 3) conduct a risk assessment of virus transmission throughout the vitamin supply chain, and 4) explore the use of blockchain technology for greater transparency and trust in the vitamin supply chain. Several education and communication priorities were also identified. A clear, transparent, and unified message is needed to educate the feed and pork industry to decrease confusion and suspicion of the perceived risks of virus transmission in the vitamin supply chain. Key components of this story include: 1) what is known about ASF virus characteristics, survival, and inactivation, 2) general description of raw materials, chemical and fermentation processes used to produce various vitamins, 3) current quality assurance programs, 4) packaging and transport, 5) potential for cross contamination from other porcine derived feed ingredients in multi-species feed mills, 6) approved sources vs. brokers and traders, and 7) holding times, origin of carriers, and premix manufacturing processes used before delivery to feed mills and commercial swine farms. Vitamin suppliers have industry wide standards for ingredient safety that minimize the opportunity for virus introduction. However, pork producers are responsible for knowing their suppliers and asking the right questions to screen potential suppliers that do not follow standards of safety. A comprehensive description of the entire vitamin supply chain is needed and a unified, accurate, and consistent message to the pork industry.Swine Health Information Center, Ames, I

Survival of a surrogate African swine fever virus-like algal virus in feed matrices using a 23-day commercial United States truck transport model

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a member of the nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDVs) and is stable in a variety of environments, including animal feed ingredients as shown in previous laboratory experiments and simulations. virus (EhV) is another member of the NCLDVs, which has a restricted host range limited to a species of marine algae called . This algal NCLDV has many similar morphological and physical characteristics to ASFV thereby making it a safe surrogate, with results that are applicable to ASFV and suitable for use in real-world experiments. Here we inoculated conventional soybean meal (SBMC), organic soybean meal (SBMO), and swine complete feed ( ) matrices with EhV strain 86 (EhV-86) at a concentration of 6.6 × 10 virus g , and then transported these samples in the trailer of a commercial transport vehicle for 23 days across 10,183 km covering 29 states in various regions of the United States. Upon return, samples were evaluated for virus presence and viability using a previously validated viability qPCR (V-qPCR) method. Results showed that EhV-86 was detected in all matrices and no degradation in EhV-86 viability was observed after the 23-day transportation event. Additionally, sampling sensitivity (we recorded unexpected increases, as high as 49% in one matrix, when virus was recovered at the end of the sampling period) rather than virus degradation best explains the variation of virus quantity observed after the 23-day transport simulation. These results demonstrate for the first time that ASFV-like NCLDVs can retain viability in swine feed matrices during long-term transport across the continental United States

ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES RELATED TO THE PRODUCTION AND MARKETING OF ETHANOL BY-PRODUCTS

Paper and PowerPoint Presentatio