World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

Thailand last week discovered the country’s first official case of African Swine Fever (ASF).

Thailand’s finding is part of the worldwide spread of ASF. The disease has reached numerous countries across Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Pacific in domestic and wild pigs.

ASF reached the Americas late last year
Continue Reading Thailand swept up in the worldwide spread of African Swine Fever (ASF)

One case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) has been detected in a cow on a farm in England.

The animal died and has been removed from the farm in Somerset, according to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).

The single case of classical BSE, known as mad cow disease,
Continue Reading BSE found in cow in England

Since the current  African Swine Fever (ASF) panzootic began in the Liaoning province of China in 2018, the United States and Canada have kept the pig virus out of North America. But, in July, USDA’s Foreign Animal Disease Diagnosis Laboratory confirmed ASF in pigs from the Dominican Republic in the

Continue Reading Urgent action needed to curb the spread of African Swine Fever in the Americas

World leaders have called for an urgent reduction in the amount of antimicrobial drugs, including antibiotics, used in food systems.

The Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance said countries must stop the use of medically important antimicrobial drugs to promote growth in healthy animals.

The request from the group, which
Continue Reading Global call to reduce antimicrobial use in healthy animals

The World Health Organization (WHO) and other agencies are calling on countries to suspend the sale of certain live caught wild animals in food markets.

WHO, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) issued guidance for national food safety authorities to make traditional markets
Continue Reading WHO appeals for pause on sale of live wild animals in markets

The first sets of food safety risk communication and country-specific action plans to tackle the significant public health problem of foodborne parasites have been identified in Asia.

They were discussed at a regional meeting to accelerate prevention and control of neglected foodborne parasitic zoonoses in certain Asian countries in 2018
Continue Reading Experts set out plans to tackle foodborne parasites in Asia

Heightened hygiene measures put in place because the coronavirus pandemic will have positive effects on longer term food safety in the Asia-Pacific region, according to experts.

The COVID-19 outbreak has increased awareness of the need for personal hygiene, such as frequent handwashing, to avoid transmitting the virus, and has reminded
Continue Reading COVID-19 hygiene focus could help food safety in Asia-Pacific