The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it can’t confirm a link between contaminated animal feed and the outbreak of a deadly pig virus.
After conducting tests on pig feed pellets made with porcine blood plasma, the CFIA has concluded that the plasma did contain “genetic material” of the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus. However, the agency says it “could not demonstrate that the feed pellets containing the blood plasma were capable of causing disease.”
The porcine epidemic diarrhea, or PED, virus was first detected in Canada at an Ontario pig farm in January. The virus has since been reported at farms in Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.
Although it poses no risk to human health or food safety, PED can be highly contagious and has killed millions of piglets in the U.S. since last May.
In a news release, the CFIA says it will continue to analyze feed ingredients and follow up with farms that may have received the contaminated feed.
The feed’s Ontario producer, Grand Valley Fortifiers, voluntarily recalled the feed pellets last month. The company says on its website that it may have received contaminated porcine blood plasma from “a major North American manufacturer.”
The CFIA said the blood plasma originated in the U.S. It says it’s working closely with American officials to ensure that the affected plasma was not shipped to other pig feed manufacturers in Canada.
The Canadian Swine Health Board has said that the disease has been contained in Canada thanks to tighter control measures since the outbreak.
