Media play an important role in helping Canadians understand the facts surrounding ASF, including these:

Fact 1:  ASF is a pig disease that has been studied for decades and is harmless to people, pets and other animals. 

• ASF can be transmitted from pig to pig and make them very sick, which is why ASF prevention programs are so important.
• ASF poses no food safety or public health concerns. 

Fact 2:  Thanks to Canada’s preventive efforts, ASF has never been detected in Canadian pigs. The government and our industry have planned carefully to prevent it from entering the country. 

• The government maintains ongoing surveillance of domestic and wild pigs to detect and contain ASF if it does occur.
• Canadian farms and processing facilities have very strict biosecurity and sanitizing processes to prevent and detect ASF and other animal diseases in pig barns or processing facilities.
• CFIA’s strict import regulations prevent affected pigs and pork products from entering the country. This helps keep our pig herd ASF-free.
• We take this disease seriously because if ASF were to occur, it would impact pig farmers and their herds significantly. In addition, the pork industry would temporarily lose the ability to export pork. 
• International trade restrictions are imposed on countries with confirmed cases to prevent the spread of the disease among pigs. 

Fact 3:  Canadian pork is safe to eat, and consumers can continue enjoying pork products with confidence. 

• Pork from pigs with ASF will never enter the food supply.
• People cannot develop ASF from exposure to pigs with ASF or to pork.
• Consumers can continue to enjoy pork and should use recommended handling practices to ensure it is safe when served, like washing pans, separate raw and fresh food, keeping cold food cold and hot food hot and cooking pork to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. as verified with a thermometer.

For more information or for media interviews, please use the contact form below. We are streamlining all media interviews for Canadian Meat Council, Canadian Pork Council and Canada Pork through this form. A team member will be in touch very shortly to book an interview with a spokesperson.