The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a proposal that would relax regulations and allow pork imports from regions in Mexico that are defined as being at low risk for classical swine fever (CSF), or otherwise known as hog cholera. CSF is a highly contagious viral swine disease that took 16 years to finally eradicate from the U.S. in 1978. Swine are not allowed to enter the U.S. if they are from regions affected by the virus and under the new proposal, pork and pork products must be sourced from farms that meet strict sanitary and biosecurity requirements and from farms that will be subject to inspections by the USDA. The USDA would then put safeguards in place that would prohibit the proximity of products from safe areas from those that do not meet the proposed requirements. Currently nine regions of Mexico have been granted the status of being CSF-free by the USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) – Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chihuahua, Sonora, Nayarit, Quintana Roo, Sinaloa, and Yucatan. The new rules would allow imports from eight additional states that rate at low risk for CSF – Aguascalientes, Colima, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacan, Queretaro, San Luis Potosi, and Zacatecas. The USDA will be taking public comments upon the proposed regulation changes until September 29.
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